The Innocence of Youth
by cataclysmicprincess
Summary: When Beth was taken from the mortuary, she was taken to the lively community of Terminus where she meets a brooding young man named Gareth. She can't help but want to help him in a conflict he doesn't want to share with her. This is a Bethyl fic! Worry not, I'm just adding some Beth/Gareth, because I think that's an interesting pairing. :D T for now, we'll see what happens.
1. Chapter 1

FIRST OF ALL. Let me first thank my editor, MassKennedyEffect, without whom, this would be a terrible wreck of a chapter. (:

Second, like it says in the description, this will be a Bereth fic at first, but worry not Bethylers, there will be Bethyl-y goodness in later chapters.

And with that, I bid you a brief farewell.

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Beth wasn't sure how she ended up here.

One minute she was with Daryl, they had had a moment, and everything seemed perfect. The next minute, walkers had swarmed their makeshift home and she was being told to get out, while Daryl played walker bait. She heard him panting as he ran out the front door, and a wave of relief washed over her. She was on her toes, watching for him to come out of the brush when her world went black.

When she came to, she was sitting in the backseat of a car, wrists and ankles bound and a gag in her mouth. Her head was pounding as the men in the front seat talked about the score for the day, talking about how "the boss" would be pleased with todays haul. She struggled against her restraints as quietly as she could, but the bindings were zip-ties and she knew she wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, good morning, Blondie." The man in the passenger seat said, turning around to face her. The man driving glanced up into the rear-view mirror smirking. Beth gave him an ugly look and struggled against her bindings once more.

"You ain't goin' nowhere till we get where we're going." He told her seriously. "You might as well behave, there's nothing to be gained from your struggling." Beth sighed and the man gave her an ugly smile. "Atta girl."

Beth resigned to stare out of the window for the rest of her trip. Sun had just started coming through the trees as they pulled up to a big warehouse with the word TERMINUS spelled out on the windows. The driver drove them around the back and pulled into a small garage. As the door closed behind them, the two men climbed out of the car. Beth could feel her heart racing in her chest as she waited for their next move.

She watched them move around the car and disappear through a door. She waited, breathing hitched, waiting for what they'd try to pull next. The men appeared looking disgruntled, followed by a brown haired man, who looked incredibly irritated. The driver moved toward the door, pulling out his keys, ready to unlock the door. Beth prepared for attack, knowing this was probably going to be her only opportunity to make an escape. He unlocked the front passenger door and hit the lock. He pulled her door open and she made an attempt to kick at him and he just gave her a brief grin, before snipping the plastic that restrained her ankles. He stood back, and motioned for her to climb out of the car. She did so hesitantly, and the brown haired man smiled at her.

"Sorry about my men here..." he started. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Beth..." she replied warily.

"Ah, yes, Beth. Sorry about my men here. Apparently 'keep and a eye out for people in need' translates to kidnap innocent people. My name is Gareth. Welcome to Terminus."

Beth smiled at the man hesitantly, not sure what to say to him.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I can give you a tour. If you'd rather not stay, you'll be more than welcome to leave, but I think you'll find you want to stay." Gareth said, taking the scissors from the driver and cutting her wrist ties. Gareth smelled like a campfire with a scent she couldn't quite place. It triggered memories that took her back to high school.

"I just want to get back to that mortuary." She told him softly. She thought she saw Gareth's gaze darken a moment, but he gave her a smile.

"Why? Were you with someone?" He asked her curiously.

"Yes, his name is Daryl. He and I were together for a while. We were attacked by walkers, and he played bait so I could get out. I just need to know he's okay." She told him hurriedly. "He's a good fighter; he could probably help you protect this place."

Gareth chuckled. "I don't think this place has anything to worry about. But worry not, we'll keep an eye out for him. What does he look like?"

"Brown hair, vest with angel wings... and he carries a crossbow."

"That sounds like the man that chased the car sir."

Beth's heart fluttered. He hadn't given up on her. Hope dared flood through her veins as the thought sunk in. Gareth seemed to notice the look on her face, and smiled at her warmly.

"We'll keep an eye out for him and bring him here if we come across him."

Beth felt a weight lift from her chest. Maybe Daryl could come here, maybe they could be happy here. Only time would tell.

…

Gareth showed her the small community of Terminus. She was introduced to the people who all seemed warm and welcoming. They gave her a helping of dinner and Gareth left her to eat. She ate quickly and when she was done eating her portion, she stood up eagerly, looking around for Gareth. Her eyes moved across the tables and searched the faces eating their portions slowly, savoring it down to the last bite. She couldn't find the brunet man amongst them, so she moved to the people serving and cleaning up. She found Gareth standing with another man who bore a striking resemblance to him. Gareth noticed almost immediately that Beth's eyes had found him, and Beth wondered if he'd been watching her the whole time.

"Beth, are you done eating?" a voice said softly beside her. Beth's eyes left Gareth and found Mary smiling warmly at her.

"Oh, um, yea. Sorry." Beth said shyly.

"Okay, sweetheart." Mary picked up her plate and walked away. Beth looked back to where Gareth had been standing, only to see that he was gone. She frowned, and scanned the area again.

"Looking for someone?" A gruff voice came from beside her. Gareth had appeared next to her, smirking.

"Yeah," she laughed nervously, "I was looking for you."

"And here I am." He chuckled at her. "Did you want to see the rest of Terminus? I can show you my quarters. It'll be where you're staying as well. We're quite booked, as it seems." A horrified look crossed over Beth's face. "Not in the same bed, or room, for that matter. Just the same area." He told her standing up.

"No, that's not what I was worried about." She told him, suddenly embarrassed by her own reaction. "I just don't want to be a bother. I just want to find my friend and then I'll be on my way." she said hesitantly. Gareth smiled at her.

"You can bring him here, though. You could both be safe here. There's safety in numbers, Beth." He said reassuringly.

"But my sister… Rick, Judy…" She said sadly.

"They can come too. But you have to build up your strength before you go after them. We can help you. My brother is an experienced fighter, he can help you. Maybe even go out and help you if you wanted." Gareth told her.

Beth knew he was right, and there was no point in arguing further. Daryl had taught her the basics of tracking and how to handle his crossbow, but she wasn't much in hand to hand combat and certainly wasn't that great with a gun. Gareth seemed to notice her change in demeanor and gave her a smile.

"Come now, I'll show you to your room and let you get acquainted with life here in Terminus. Lets not worry with leaving when you've only just got here.

Her room was nothing special. There was a cot with a table beside of it and a small desk with a chair pushed up to it. A trunk sat at the end of the cot, and she opened it to find clothes that appeared to be in her size folded neatly.

"If you'd like to shower and change before we continue our tour, you're more than welcome to." Gareth told her, watching her investigate the clothing.

"S-shower?" She said disbelievingly. Gareth let out a chuckle at her incredulity.

"Did you think I just smelled this good naturally?" He asked her, still with a slight laugh in his voice. "We have showers here, the one you'll be using is right down the hall here. Grab a change of clothes. I'll show you to them."

Beth opted for a light pair of jeans, a black tank top and a gray sweater. Gareth led her down a hall, stopping in front of a small wooden door similar to hers, four doors down from hers.

"This is my room, if you ever find yourself in need of anything, do not hesitate to knock. I assure you, it would be doing me a disservice if you didn't feel like you could come to me with your troubles. I want you to feel safe here." He said, resting a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't sure if he meant more than he was implying, and Beth wasn't sure if she minded.

Gareth led her to another wooden door that had a small white woman illustration hanging on it.

"This is where, I'm afraid, I must leave you Beth. Whenever you're ready, if you'd like, I can continue to show you the grounds."

"Thank you Gareth, for everything." She told him putting her hand on his wrist. She felt the man twitch underneath of her fingers, and she could tell he wasn't exactly used to friendly touches.

"I'll see you again soon, right?" He said, hesitantly, staring at her fingers, refusing to look her in the eye.

"I'll come find you when I'm done this shower." Beth said, taken aback by his sudden personality switch.

He smiled broadly at her, and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Happy shower." He told her smirking again. She thought she could feel him looking her over and she felt her stomach flutter. She was flattered. There was no denying she was attracted to Gareth, but she knew she couldn't trust him just yet. She still knew there was good people, but she couldn't help but get the feeling he was hiding something. She shook it off though, she had no reason not to trust him.

Her shower was more heavenly that she could have imagined. The water was actually heated and there was shampoo and conditioner provided for her in the stall. She was transported momentarily from the dingy tile and dirty, torn curtain back to her shower on the farm. She didn't want to leave her heaven, but she knew it would just be a waste of water to stand there much longer. She stood for another thirty seconds, letting the water wash away her sorrows. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower on the grimy linoleum, wrapping her towel around her. She pulled on the clean white underwear, and then a small white sports bra. She began drying her hair off, tickled when the soft blonde strands fell against her skin. She cleaned the mirror of the steam and looked into it.

It really _had_ been awhile since she had looked into a mirror.

Beth barely recognized the person staring back at her. Gone was the doe-eyed girl who couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag. Instead she found a woman, capable of anything. Scars marked her body, all symbols of her survival. The one on her wrist stood out more than the rest, as a blaring symbol that reminded her, that she wants to be here. She had survived the fall of the prison, the loss of her father, and had gotten Daryl Dixon, of all people, to open up to her.

She finished getting dressed and made her way back to her room, dirty clothes and towels in tow.

Maybe she could be alright without him.

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**Reviews light the fire in my fingers.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were eventful for Beth. Gareth showed her around Terminus after her shower and she quickly became acclimated with her surroundings. She had spent most of her time in Gareth's company, and she was becoming quite fond of him. He seemed to be reciprocating, or at least so she thought. He was having a hard time opening up to her, even though she had been open with her journey through the end of the world.

After breakfast, Mary gave her a job in the laundry area and Beth was happy to be doing her part. A young girl named Maddie showed her the ropes, and seemed overjoyed at the fact Beth was accompanying her. The towers of clothes surrounding her seemed overwhelming, and Beth soon was longing for a proper washer and dryer to run them through. Still, the company and good conversation with Maddie made time go by faster.

Beth learned that before the fall, Maddie had been a senior at the high school a couple towns over from her hometown. She hadn't been much for sports, opting more for the creative writing classes and art club. One of her books had even been picked up by a publisher, but everything went to shit before it came to fruition. Maddie was a pretty girl, standing a couple inches taller than Beth with long black hair. She and Beth got along well while they worked, and Beth thanked Heaven for that.

By dinner time, they had made a decent dent in the towers, leaving two out the the five they started with. As they headed down towards the cafeteria, Beth's mind wandered to Daryl. It had done it a few times today, once when she woke up, once when she was making her way to find Gareth and again when she took her break.

She knew Daryl would be okay without her, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to worry about him. She was slowly beginning to like life and Terminus; she really hoped Daryl would find his way here. She hadn't spoken to Gareth's brother about getting fighting lessons just yet, but Gareth reassured her that it wouldn't be hard for Daryl to find Terminus. They had signs posted all over the tracks in every direction, assuring that it was a safe haven.

When Beth entered the cafeteria, Gareth popped up, seemingly waiting for her. He strode over to her smiling. "How did your first day go?" He asked her, curiously. He nodded to Maddie and she left the two to talk in search of dinner.

"It wasn't bad at all. There's a lot of clothing in that room; I thought I was going to meet my maker thanks to a pile of clothes." She said, laughing a little.

Gareth just smiled again. He led her to a fold-out table where he was sitting. Two untouched plates of meat and potatoes sat with two cups of water and silverware. The two stepped over the stat, planting themselves at the edge of the fold-out table.

"Thank you, Gareth." Beth beamed at him. Every dinner, he would insist she sat with him, not that she minded. She liked listening to him talk; he was always articulate. She sometimes felt like she was back at school, but instead of listening to a boring teacher, she would be listening to Gareth, almost enraptured by him.

"I spoke to my brother about teaching you how to fight. He told me he'd be more than happy to help, but it will have to wait a couple days. They're going on a run, and they're going further out than they've been in awhile. I hope that's okay."

"Gareth, its fine. Daryl will be here any day now. I just know it." She told him confidently, nodding her head and smiling.

"Beth, your faith shows no bounds, does it?" He asked her, slouching back in his chair with an amused look on his face.

"Daryl is a very broken man, but he is built to survive in this new world around us." She told him sadly, her hands twisting anxiously in her lap. It was true, that while she had faith in Daryl, she was afraid her disappearance would dissuade him from looking for their makeshift family from the prison. Gareth was watching her with a peculiar reverence and said nothing more on the subject. The silence hung thick in the air for a moment. Beth began feeling awkward not saying anything, but even though she kept racking her mind for something, she kept coming up empty.

"So…" She started, "What are your plans for the night?" Gareth looked at her quizzically for a moment.

"Nothing is really on the agenda. I have to make sure that dinner is cleaned and put away and the perimeter is secure, but after that I'll probably retire to my room and do some reading." He told her dryly. "Why, did you need something?"

"Nothing really, I was just wondering. I just go back to my room after dinner, get everything ready for the next day and go to bed and try to sleep through the night." A nostalgic look crossed her face. "Its kinda like life back at the prison. Except without Judy." She felt the tears burning in her eyes and she tried her hardest to keep her composure.

"Have you finished eating Beth?" Gareth said softly, gently resting a hand on her back. She nodded at him, losing the battle against the tears in her eyes. He gathered the plates in front of them and took them over to Mary. When he returned, he helped her stand up. "Would you like to get out of here?" She nodded again and he led her back to the building she was staying in. Instead of taking her to her room however, he led her to the door he had showed her the first day she came to Terminus. He opened the door and led her to a couch where she sat down.

The tears fell freely now, and she couldn't make them stop. Gareth sat next to her rubbing her back, clearly feeling very awkward by the situation. Beth noticed his demeanor, and was reminded of Daryl, when they had found the small shoe that had once been attached to Judith's foot. This memory tore open more painful memories, and she could quickly feel herself coming undone. She thought of her father, how much she missed him, and how she felt everything would be okay, if only he were here. She thought of Maggie and how she had told her they didn't get to cry anymore when Glenn was sick. If only Maggie could see the hypocrite she was now.

"Gareth, I'm sorry for this." She hiccuped. "I just, I miss them so much."

"I know Beth."

"I hope they can find they're way here."

Gareth was silent, but he pulled her closer to him, and she sobbed quietly. In the back of her mind, she thought it was strange, but she decided she didn't mind the closeness. It had been awhile since she had anyone this close. Again, her mind was brought back to Daryl; she said a silent prayer to anyone, hoping he was alright.

For the next ten minutes, she cried until nothing came out anymore. She spent the time studying the room. It was a lot different then hers, but then, Gareth was the leader of the small community. He had a large bed with blankets that had clearly been scavenged from the area. There was a faded, dirty pink comforter resting on it, and cartoon character pillow resting against the headboard. Next to the bed, was an end table covered in wax. There was a desk with a folding chair pushed up to it, with papers and books stacked on top. The most impressive thing in the room, had to be his bookshelf. She couldn't read most of the titles, but she did recognize a couple of the classics, and a couple survival cookbooks. He wasn't kidding when he said he was studying. He was trying to learn as much as he possibly could to survive in this new world.

As the tears slowed, Gareth went and got a cool, damp rag and handed it to her. She smiled bleakly, pressing the cool rough fabric to her face. The cold felt amazing against her puffy eyes and she sniffled.

"I told my sister once, that we don't get to cry anymore," her breathing hitched, "I can just imagine what she'd have to say right now." She laughed weakly and Gareth smiled.

"I'm sure she'd understand the circumstances." Gareth reassured her. "You're on your own completely now."

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't make me feel less shitty about it." She murmured.

"I'm sorry Beth…" Gareth said a sad grimace.

"At least I have you right?"

Gareth was silent for a moment, and Beth feared she had stepped to far. It felt like hours when he spoke again.

"Of course you do, I told you when you came here my door was always open for you. I'd hoped you would remember."

"Its just so hard to trust people these days. You must understand that." She said, with a hint of pleading in her voice. A dark look washed over Gareth's face. He stood and walked away from her. He seemed to be looking at something obscured from view by the stacks of books.

"I know how that can be." He finally spoke. A rush of relief washed over Beth.

"Did something happen to you?" She asked tentatively.

"Something terrible happened to all of us when we first started Terminus." He said darkly. "People came here… They hurt my mother… We were just trying to help people!" He swore, slamming his fist on the desk. His whole body shook, and Beth moved toward him. She reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder, but he moved out of her reach. "No, don't." He said, facing away from her.

"Talk to me Gareth, you just watched me sob my heart out on your couch... "

"I don't want to talk about it Beth."

"Gareth, please."

"No."

The tension in the air was thick. She wanted to pry it out of him, but she feared he would push her away even further if she tried.

"You should go." He spoke, voice devoid of any emotion.

She hesitated, but moved away from him. She picked up the washcloth he had given her and moved to the exit.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Her voice tentatively asked.

"You will." He replied.

"Good night Gareth, thank you."

"Good night Beth."

The next morning, Beth didn't see Gareth at breakfast. Mary greeted her warmly, and gave her a plate of eggs and she found an empty spot at one of the tables. She immediately felt Gareth's absence as she began eating her eggs. Maddie filled the empty spot next to her and began talking to her about the days work. Beth half listened to her, as she kept her eyes on the doors into the room and ate. Once she finished her eggs, she stood to take her plate to Mary. She was instead frozen in her place, as Gareth walked in the room. He stumbled in still half asleep, shirt untucked and hair still a mess from where he'd been sleeping. Beth couldn't help but find him utterly adorable.

Maddie nudged her slightly, and Beth came back to her senses. Maddie looked at her bewildered, but Beth shook her head at her and took her plate to Mary. Gareth was talking to Mary in low tones when she got there. He stopped short when he saw her standing there, and turned his head and looked around the room.

"Good morning Gareth," she said timidly as Mary took her plate from her. He nodded to her briefly, eyes still flitting around the room. She took this as a sign to leave, and her and Maddie made their way to the exit.

"What was that?" Maddie asked hushed as they made they're way to the laundry room.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Beth mused, desperately wanting to avoid the subject.

"Do you have something going on with Gareth?" Maddie asked curiously.

"Not really." Beth said dryly, but she asked herself the same question. He had consoled her while she sobbed over lost family, and had even taken her to a private place to give her somewhere to let it out. Why wouldn't he let her do that for him?

Beth tried to shove the thought out of her mind now that they had arrived at the laundry room. At first, Maddie wouldn't let up about Gareth. Beth kept blowing of the questions left and right, but was forced to pause for a moment when Maddie asked if she liked him. Beth, despite all of her confusion and irritation with him, couldn't resist a smile but still just shrugged. Maddie clapped happily to herself.

"It'd be good for Gareth to have someone. I thought there was something there when I first came to Terminus, but we both lost interest. He's a very tortured man, Beth."

"It wouldn't be my first rodeo with those types." Beth mused, forgetting about her attempts at dodging Maddie's question. Instead her mind found Daryl and her heart ached. "Maddie, can I ask you something?"

"Of course Beth, what's up?" Maddie replied, sitting her laundry down to focus on Beth.

"I'm safe here, right? I should do what's right for me, right?" She asked, tears burning in her eyes as she focused on a shirt she had been scrubbing.

"Yeah, Beth, of course. You don't have anyone but yourself out here anymore." Maddie said soothingly. "Its not like how it used to be. You try your damnedest to stay alive, and if you find somewhere you're safe, like here, you stay. Stay until you're forced to move on."

Beth was silent for a moment, mulling over Maddie's words. She knew she was right, but that didn't mean she didn't miss her family from the Prison. It felt like someone had torn out a large part of her, and she'd been left with a gaping hole. Every day in Terminus however, the hole hurt less. Everyday, she felt like she was really becoming a part of Terminus. She'd only been there for about a week, and this place was starting to feel like home.

"Beth, are you okay?" Maddie asked. "I didn't upset you, did I?" She questioned tentatively.

"No Maddie," Beth said, voice cracking. Goddammit, she was crying _again_. "I just miss my family. I love everyone here, I just miss them so much."

It was Maddie's turn to be silent. Beth wiped the tears from her face, and when back to her clothes. They didn't talk for awhile, about two hours had passed before either of them had spoken.

"I know how you feel." Maddie whispered, clearly not trusting her voice to go any louder. "I cried almost everyday when I first came here. They found me walking through the woods, my family had been forced to separate and I was looking for them when a man named Brennan found me in the woods. He told me about this place, and convinced me to come here. I always wonder if I should have gone back out there to look for them. They never found this place. It makes me fear the worst." Maddie's voice was solemn. "But I'm alive, right? And even if they are gone, I can make them proud. We're helping people. We could repopulate this world Beth, we could fix everything." Maddie's voice was stronger now, her purpose coming back to her. "Once we get rid of all the dead ones, we'll actually be safe. We could have children and farms. Its been possible before! I know we can." Her face showed her determination, and her faith in the future. Beth couldn't help but get a high from the thought as well.

"I'm glad you're so, oh what's the word, _optimistic_ Mads." A smooth, rough voice came from behind her. "Beth, can I talk to you for a sec?"

* * *

**So we got to meet and learn a little bit about Maddie, Beth's "co-worker" in laundry. Thank you so much to all the reader and to Louise, Guest, charrynoir, ThePetrisFreak and Tania Ibarbia! You're the greatest.**

**Remember, reviews light the fire in my fingers.**


	3. Chapter 3

Beth turned in surprise, to see a man she didn't know standing against the door frame. He was tall and lanky with black hair obscured by a dirty baseball cap. He had what looked like a toothpick in his mouth and he rolled it around his lips as he looked her. Beth felt a wave of apprehension wash over her, and she immediately wanted to say no. She looked over at Maddie, who was wearing a look of annoyance on her face. She nodded noncommittally and went back to her clothes. Beth had no choice in the matter now.

"Sure." Beth said hesitantly, moving around the stacks of clothes and walking outside with him. She stood next to the door with him across from her.

"My name's Martin. I just wanted to introduce myself. I've seen you around. Usually you're with Gareth." He said looking at her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. "Figured the only way I'd get to talk to ya is if I came down here." He grinned at her like he'd found an incredible loophole and was astounded by his cleverness.

"Why can't you talk to me when Gareth's around?" Beth asked, looking around the courtyard, hoping someone would see her talking to him.

"Gareth tends to be… greedy. You're a pretty girl. Just wanted to let you know there are other options in this community. Gareth might be a good talker, but I'm better without words." He told her, leering at her. Panic was starting to set in as he put his hand on the wall and moved closer to her. "Just remember, I'm always a possibility." The stench of his breath was invading her nostrils.

"I have to get back." Beth said, her hand moving to the doorknob. Martin pushed his hand on the door, effectively giving her no escape route. She was trapped, and the only way out was through. "Move out of my way." She said dangerously.

"Feisty, huh? That's where the real fun is." Martin's voice was husky, desire dripping in every syllable. His face was moving closer to hers, and she knew it was now or never.

Beth's foot made contact in Martin's most prized area before he knew what was happening.

"Stupid bitch!" He yelled winded as he fell to the ground. People came around the corner, Mary leading the group. She narrowed her eyes as she assessed the situation, quickly coming a conclusion to what had happened. She grabbed the shirt of the man standing next to her and told him something. He took off in the direction of the cafeteria and Mary started walking towards her.

"Did he hurt you?" She asked, eyeing the groaning man on the ground.

"I didn't do nothing to her!" Martin called out from the ground.

"Hush you. Beth, are you ok?" Mary asked, turning her full attention to Beth.

"I'm fine. He, he just…" She trailed off, staring at her attacker, who was trying to regain his footing.

"Come on, Gareth will want to see you. He doesn't take things like this lightly. He's going to be furious. I told him we should've… never mind, lets get you out of here." She rambled, putting her arm around Beth.

"Really, I'm fine Mary. You don't have to-"

"What's going on here?" The sharp voice made Beth's hair stand on end. She turned to see Gareth assessing the situation, anger growing by the second.

"He just, he got too close to me." Beth muttered, trying to wrangle herself free of Mary's grip.

"Did he touch you?" Gareth asked, anger seeping into his voice.

"No. He had me trapped, I had to. He would've." Beth was rambling now.

Maddie had finally opened the door to the laundry building, with a bewildered look on her face. "What's… going on?" She asked, glancing at Martin's wincing face.

"She kicked me in the family jewels!" He yelled, finally gaining his footing again.

"You don't know the meaning of personal space!" Beth yelled back at him.

"Martin, come with me." Gareth said coldly. "Beth, go back to work, but find me when you're done." The adrenaline had run its course through her body, and she wanted nothing more than to hide from all the staring. "Everyone! Back to what you were doing! Its not polite to stand and gawk." Gareth shouted at the spectators. The crowd dispersed, a few more glances over their shoulders before getting back to their work.

"Are you sure you want her to go back to work?" Mary said incredulously.

"Beth will be fine. Martin won't be bothering her anymore." Gareth spat at his mother, his anger taking over. Mary looked like she wanted to give her a piece of her mind, but held her tongue. "Beth, I mean it, find me when you're done. I'll be waiting in my room."

"Okay, Gareth." She said with a hint of disdain in her voice. Gareth turned to look her.

"Sorry, its not your fault. I just don't tolerate this kind of foolishness." He said softly. He pushed Martin to start him walking. "I thought I made that clear." Martin just scoffed at him, almost like he had something he wanted to say, but didn't. Gareth started walking away, and Beth was left with Mary, watching the two of them.

"I swear, that boy." She muttered under her breath. "I'll see you at dinner, Beth. Holler if you need anything."

"I will." Beth assured her.

Mary walked away and Beth walked back into the laundry room with Maddie.

"So, uh, what in the hell happened out there?" She asked Beth as she shut and locked the door.

Beth explained to her everything that happened. By the end, Maddie was fuming.

"That idiot!" She yelled, handing Beth a stack of clothes to fold. "He knows better than to try to pull that shit. Especially with someone Gareth has taken an interest in. That's just playing with fire."

Beth raised an eyebrow, but shrugged, physically exhausted by the day she had. She just wanted to be reunited with her small cot and be alone for awhile. She knew however, these days you rarely got what you wanted.

xx

It had gotten chilly by the time it was finally time to call it quits for the day, but Beth was feeling relatively better. That is, until Maddie reminded her that she had to go find Gareth. They had been walking towards the Mess Hall when Maddie asked where she was going. Beth looked at her like she was crazy.

"I'm going to get something to eat, I'm starving."

"Don't you have to go talk to Gareth?"

Beth inwardly groaned. Her number one priority right now was getting her hands on something to eat.

"Shit, you're right. I'll see you later."

She turned in the opposite direction and headed toward the building she and Gareth resided in. Dread washed over her, and she started overthinking. What if he was upset that she had attacked Martin. He had said it wasn't her fault, but maybe he was upset it had to come to violence. Her mind was racing as she opened the door and let herself inside. She climbed the stairs to their floor and approached his door. Her knock was timid and she was almost sure he couldn't have heard it. She inwardly cursed herself and raised her hand to knock again when the door opened, heat radiating out of the room. She shivered as she saw Gareth standing there, holding the door open for her to enter the room. Beth wondered if it was just the chilly air she had been standing in or just Gareth's presence.

"Hey." He said, voice husky. He coughed to clear his throat before speaking again. "How are you?"

"I'm alright."

He led her in the room, where two plates of food sat at a card table with two chairs placed next to it. None of it had been there the last time she'd been in his room, she looked at him curiously.

"I figured we could eat up here tonight. I figured you wouldn't want everyone staring at you." He told her, sheepishly.

"Thank you Gareth." Gratitude pouring into her voice. She hadn't even thought about it before that moment, but she was glad he had.

Gareth pulled out a chair for her and she sat down. Tonight's dinner was meat, potatoes and corn. 'Ah consistency.' She thought to herself.

"I thought maybe we could share a glass of wine tonight, if you want." Gareth said, opening one of his desk drawers and pulling out a dusty old bottle.

"Wow, Gareth, you really know how to woo a girl don't you? Private dinner, with wine." She giggled to herself.

"The only thing I'm missing is candles and Marvin Gaye, right?" He laughed.

"I'd love some. I've never had wine before. What better time than now?" A nagging voice in the back of her head reminded her that she hadn't known Gareth long, and with the days events, this was just asking for trouble. She decided she trusted Gareth, and honestly didn't mind if the wine got to her head a little.

"I'm not sure what kind this is, its some kind of red wine, I do know that. The label is long since gone. We found it in a grocery store. No one's really a wine drinker, but we figure if push came to shove, it was something to clean with and I read somewhere that its good for disinfecting fruits and vegetables. I know the label says something like Coppola on it." Gareth shrugged and laughed. "I know literally nothing about wine." As he spoke, he retrieved two plastic wine glasses. He pulled the paper off, twisting and turning the cap, only to discover it was in fact a cork bottle. He sighed heavily, and went in search of something small and pointed. He found a broken pair of scissors and shoved the remaining blade into the cork. He pulled as hard as he could, visibly straining against the stubborn cork, but finally with a very loud "POP", it came free. He put the scissor on the desk and poured them each a glass. Beth let out a giggle as she took it from him.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen." She chuckled. She swirled the liquid around in the glass. "I think this is what you're supposed to do before you drink it. My mom used to watch all these cooking shows and that's what they'd do if they were serving wine with the meal." Gareth did the same, a little too eagerly which resulted in some of the liquid finding its way to rim and spilling. Beth giggled as she took a sip from her glass. It tasted like berries with a hint of vanilla, and Beth closed her eyes, letting it rest in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. When she opened her eyes, she was treated to Gareth wearing an incredibly disgusted face.

"People actually enjoyed this?" He spat, wrinkling his nose as he looked at the glass. Beth laughed heartily and Gareth stuck his tongue out at her, causing Beth to laugh more.

"Oh, we're going the childish route about it, are we?" She said, chuckling. "I've heard you either like wine, or you learn to like it. Try drinking more." She told him, taking another drink.

"My, my Beth. Are you trying to get me drunk?" He exclaimed satirically. Beth blushed bright pink.

"I could ask the same of you." She stammered. She avoided his eyes now, a shameful smile dancing on her lips.

"Of course not," he took another sip of the wine, "I wouldn't want you to do anything you wouldn't want to." He gave her a mischievous smile and gestured to the food. "Lets eat."

As they cleared their plates, Beth told him her side of the story with Martin. She told him how he got close enough to smell his rancid breath. Gareth cut his meat with more force as she spoke, but otherwise kept his temper in line.

"I've told him to steer clear of you. If you have anymore problems, let me know. You shouldn't. He knows the penalty." Gareth said darkly looking down into his lap, hands folded into a triangle and elbows resting on the table, his face effectively masked from Beth.

By the time they had finished dinner, Gareth had finished his first glass of wine, and Beth was working on her third. Her whole head felt fuzzy, and the world seemed to have a blur around the edges. She had become a lot more giggly and her and Gareth had made their way to the couch. They were sitting upright, with Beth's body resting against his and her head on his shoulder.

"Hey Gareth?" She asked.

"Yea, Beth?"

"Here I am, rather tipsy on your couch and I don't even know your last name. Mine's Greene. With an extra 'e' at the end."

"Hunter." He said. "No extra 'e' on the end."

Beth erupted into giggles and Gareth chuckled at her raucous laughter. "How old are you?" She asked when giggles subsided.

"Twenty-five when the fall happened, so I'd estimate twenty-seven now." Gareth said focusing on the ceiling, "And yourself?"

"Well lets see…" she started, draining the last of her wine. "I was sixteen when this all started, so I guess I'm about twenty-eight. I mean, eighteen." Giggles started again. She held out her glass to him, eyeing the wine bottle.

"I'm not sure if I should even let you have anymore." He teased as he poured more in her glass. "Not to mention you're underage. Wouldn't want to get busted.

"I think," Beth said, taking a sip. "I think we're gonna be alright."

Gareth considered her for a moment and slid off the couch to sat crosslegged on the floor. "I don't think I ever apologized properly for last night." He said remorsefully.

"Yea what was that all about." She said, her head resting on the back of the couch, eyes closed.

"I just… seeing your face today… It reminded me of Mary." Gareth rambled, putting his head in hands.

Beth sat up and looked at him. "Your mother…?" She said with a mix of sadness and confusion.

"When we first came to Terminus, we wanted to help people. We put up all those signs because this was a sanctuary for all. We wanted people to come here, for them to be safe here." He told her. The words almost seemed stuck in his throat as he told her his story. "Everything was okay for awhile, people were showing up left and right and while we were having problems getting enough food, we had the numbers to send people out to look for it. Everything was nice and happy, till they showed up.

"There were about fifteen to twenty of them. All of them were big burly guys. Mean looking bastards too. We should've known then, that we were in some shit. Mom said we should let them in, only seeing the good in them." Gareth's face twisted into one of rage. "So we did. And they overtook us and after the first day of them being here, we were locked in train cars and they were raiding our camp for food.

"Every night, they'd thrown in some food. The third night, we heard a woman screaming, 'No! Stop! Get off of me! I knew immediately who it was." Gareth's voice was full of emotion "Her name was Suzanne, and she had been with us since the beginning. We listened to her screams, and tried fruitlessly to get out of that train car. We heard one of the other train car's door open and shut. She cried for the rest of the night.

"They kept us in there for the better part of three weeks. Every night they would take the women, apparently just the one wasn't enough fun for them. They took my mother. Every night, she would sit in the corner, eyes wide, never sleeping more than a couple minutes at a time. The look of fear on her face, I'll never forget it." Beth moved down onto the floor next to and put her hand on his. He moved his hand to the ground and she gripped with her own.

"We knew the only way we'd get out of there alive was if we fought. The night we decided was the right night, when they came for the women, a man named Jonathan stood by the door, waiting for them to open it. Our plan was to get the gun of the one that came and take out the rest, and he, my brother and I were going to take back Terminus. So many of us died that night, but we stood victorious by the end of it all." His voice was raw as he finished his story. He looked at Beth, gauging her reaction.

"Gareth I'm… I don't even know what to say." she told him mournfully. "Why did you even take me in, when that had happened. If I were you, I wouldn't want to let anyone in, who knows what they would do."

"We only bring people in now who we meet out on the road." He told her, lifting his head from his hands. "I know you coming here seemed more of a kidnapping mission, but you were alone and albeit stupid, those men meant well."

"They did right to bring me here, I just wish they would've been patient enough to wait for Daryl. He even followed the car!" She exclaimed indignantly.

"Beth, you were a small girl, and he was a big mean looking guy from what they told me. They didn't know if you were running from him, they acted in the moment." He told her, desperate for her understanding.

"I know, I'm sorry." she said solemnly. Silence fell upon both of them, as they both retreated into their own thoughts. Beth thought of the day she had, as she finished the rest of her wine. She was pouring the last of the bottle in her glass when a thought popped into her head. She turned to face him before she spoke. "Maddie said something to me today, in regards to the Martin incident." She said, drawing it out to choose her words wisely. Gareth raised an eyebrow at her.

"And what exactly did she say?" He asked apprehensively.

"She said Martin was an idiot, said he knew better than to act the way he did." Gareth's expression was unsurprised.

"Well he is, and does." He muttered under his breath.

"Especially towards someone _you_ have taken an interest in." She finished. Gareth seemed to be reading her expression, which she kept passive as possible, despite her heartbeat increasing.

"Did she now?" He murmured. He got to his feet, stretching to his full height. "Well, its not secret I have taken interest in you Beth. Its not everyone here I bring up to my room to have dinner and wine." He said chuckling. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll understand."

"No, its not that. Its just… why? I'm a farm girl from Georgia." She said flustered.

"You have seemingly boundless faith. I think you're quite beautiful, and when I'm around you, I just feel hopeful." He shrugged while her stomach erupted into butterflies. She could feel the pink blooming on her cheeks and she made an effort not to look into his eyes.

"I just, I don't know what to say." She told him.

"You don't really have to say anything. Its just a little fact. I'm interested in you." Gareth shrugged. "I learned how to deal with rejection a long time ago. I wasn't the most popular kid in school, while I still had dreams of dating the cheerleader."

"I didn't date seriously during high school until I met Jimmy. We were together for a couple months before the fall. We were together when everything went to shit. He didn't make it off the farm with us though." She told him sadly. She moved towards Gareth and cupped his cheek in her hand. "You're a great guy, Gareth. I would have to be blind to not see that. You've suffered so much tragedy, and yet here you are, still helping people." Gareth placed his hand on hers, and gazed at her with a reverence. His face moved to hers, and soon his lips were on hers. She could taste the wine on his breathe and she returned the kiss.

They broke apart in shock when Gareth's brother Alex ran into the room, "Gareth, Gareth! We have a problem. Walkers got in! I think the overpowered one of the walls." he told him, breathless.

"Has anyone been injured?" Gareth asked him, moving away from Beth and picking up his jacket from the desk.

"Not yet, but we need people out there to keep it under control so we can get the breach fixed."

Gareth was putting on his jacket when he turned to Beth. "Beth, I want you to stay here. There's a gun in the drawer there, if you need it and a knife under my pillow. Stay here till I come back ok?"

"I can help-"

"Beth I believe you could, but I also know how much you've had to drink, I need you to stay here and stay safe, ok?"

Beth wanted to argue that she was fine, but as she moved to the drawer to grab the gun, she realized the adrenaline hadn't gotten rid her drunkenness. She nodded at him and he left a kiss on the top of her head before exiting the room.

And there Beth was, feeling useless and helpless as she listened to the gunfire protecting her and Terminus.

* * *

**Ooooh, some of the backstory for Terminus and rapey Martin. This chapter was like a powerhouse for me to write, I finished it in under a day, so please please please tell me what you think! For the Bethylers getting discouraged, this is all necessary. I'm tired of never been scorned Beth. I promise you, that there is Bethyl to come, but her stay at Terminus needs to play out. Thank you SO much! :D This chapter is almost a thousand words longer than the last one, I'm really proud of myself for that!**

**Remember, reviews light the fires in my fingers.**


	4. Chapter 4

Beth waited for what felt like years. She mulled over the events of the night once her buzz wore off while she listened to the gunshots die down. She couldn't believe Gareth kissed her, and moreover, that she had kissed him back. Her body was exhausted from the day she had and it wasn't long before she found herself in a relaxed position on the couch slowly drifting off, gun firmly in her grasp.

She awoke to Gareth awkwardly trying to pick her up. "Sorry." He said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to wake you. I was just going to put you on the bed. You look terribly uncomfortable." The sun was coming through the curtains over the desk and Beth sat up.

"I should go." She croaked abruptly, and as she stood up, a wave of nausea washed over her. She lost her balance, falling back onto the couch. Her mouth was dry and her head pounded.

"Got a bit of a hangover?" Gareth asked smirking. He pulled a water bottle out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Beth took a copious drink from it and shot him a glare for mocking her. "Grumpy this morning, aren't you." Gareth said chuckling.

"Shut up." She groaned. Gareth let out another chuckle.

"Note to self, Beth gets cranky when she's hungover."

"Haw haw haw," she said, glaring. "Is everyone ok?" She asked, her memory finally working properly.

"We didn't have any casualties, aside from the fence. We're not sure what we're going to do about it right now, so we have someone standing guard." He told her, plopping down next to her, clearly exhausted by the nights activities.

"When we were at the prison, we had to put wooden slats to support the fence from the walkers. It wasn't as effective if they piled onto one spot, but it worked well enough. We had people on the fence killing them to make sure they didn't pile up too much." Beth explained, massaging the bridge of her nose.

"That's a pretty good idea, Beth. I'll tell Alex when I see him later this afternoon." Gareth remarked. He let his head fall back and rest on the back of the couch, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry for how I acted last night." Beth said compunctiously. Gareth sat up to look at her.

"What have you to be sorry for?" He asked, bemused.

"I don't know, I remember acting dumb and saying things that I barely remember." She said, hand resting on her eyes.

"Do you regret kissing me?" Gareth asked softly, not looking at her.

Beth contemplated a moment, considering how she felt about it. All she could muster was a timid, "do you?"

"No." He said simply, keeping emotion out of his voice. "I'd do it again right now if I thought you wouldn't mind."

"You can." This time it was Beth who put her lips on his. He was surprised at first, but returned the kiss. His lips were rough on hers, and for moment she felt completely safe. He was the first to move away, and Beth immediately missed his warmth. She opened her eyes as gave him a goofy smile. Gareth returned a smile, but his was a sad one. He rested his his forehead on hers.

"You're not going to leave, right?" He whispered, as though he didn't want to actually ask.

Beth frowned at him, confused for a moment, before she remembered her plans to go after Daryl. She raised a hand to his face to cup his cheek. "I'm safe here. I'm happy here, I really am, but I need to find my family. So I can bring them here. So we can all be safe."

Gareth seemed to deflate. "There's nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?" He said pitifully. "Even though my men are looking for them, or the man at least."

"I'll wait another week, and then I'm going. I'll come back, Gareth. I promise." Beth assured him.

Gareth stood up and walked to the window, running his hands through his hair. "What if something happens to you? What if you get hurt or kidnapped?" Gareth's voice was panicked as he turned to face her. "What if you get killed?" He muttered pathetically.

"Gareth, I'll be fine. I've been out there before, for months. It was before we found the prison. And then again, after the fall. I just need a little bit of training, and I'll be unstoppable." She told him confidently. Gareth gave her a small smile, before his face fell again.

"Beth, I know I haven't known you for very long, but you make me feel things I never thought I would feel again. I feel hopeful again. My purpose before was to keep my family safe. You saw the good in us. I never thought I could be a good person again. Not after the things I've done." Gareth lamented to her.

"What could you have possibly done that would make you unredeemable? Everyone is, when they try to be redeemed. God loves us no matter what." Beth told him.

"There is no God, Beth. If there was, why would he put us through this hell? Why would he let all these bad things happen to good people." Gareth snapped at her. "People should never have to do the things my family has been forced to!"

Beth was silent. She was trying to dig deep to give him a reason, but she couldn't find a good enough reason. Truth be told, every day had become a struggle in the ways of her faith, but she knew there had to be a reason for this. Like when God flooded the Earth in Genesis. All of the bad people were being washed away. The thought always made her heart hurt though. Her mother had been one of the first to fall in town when people started getting sick.

"Gareth, there has to be a reason. There has to be a point. I don't think I could go on knowing there was no point to all of this." She told him, her voice low and emotional. She rested her elbows on her knees and put her face in her hands. She felt the couch cushion next to her lower and she inhaled the scent of Gareth's body wash. It had become oddly comforting to her. He rested his hand on her back and she leaned into him.

"I just don't want to lose you. You're the first good thing that's happened to me since the fall happened." He told her.

She was silent and the silence enveloped them. They sat there, Gareth's hand moving up and down her back, for awhile, and Beth felt her eyes drooping again. She felt Gareth's hand slowing on her back, and she looked over at him. He was slowly falling asleep, and Beth really took in his features. With his eyes closed, he looked so peaceful. Beth had never really noticed, but he looked so much younger in his slumber. She moved to stand up, to let him sleep and go back to her room to catch a nap. Her movement caused his eyes to open.

"Don't go…" He said sleepily.

"You need to get some rest. You have a community to lead, and I have laundry to attend to." She told him, a small laugh in her voice.

"You should just stay here. Fuck the laundry." He said, his hand moving to hers to pull her back onto the couch with him.

"But Maddie…" She started, but his gentle tugging had her back on the couch. She knew this was a battle she could win, if only the allure of sleep weren't so strong.

"Would you like to sleep on the bed?" He asked her, opening one eye to peak at her. Her eyebrow raised, winning her a mischievous smirk. "No funny business, scout's honor." he mumbled, his free hand lazily lifting into a three finger salute. Her face had a wide smile on it now and he sat up, his body clearly unhappy with moving. "Do you wanna move?"

"I suppose, it'd be nice to stretch out on a big bed." She finally agreed.

He stood up first, still holding her hand. He used to it to pull her to her feet, almost pulling himself back on the couch. Beth giggled at him.

"You're cute when you're all tired." She remarked.

"Oh, shut up." He said, his eyes barely open anymore.

"You're not helping your case." She giggled.

He pulled her over to the bed and collapsed on it. He tried to pull her with him, but she let go before he could. "Shoes…" She reminded him.

"Fuck the shoes." He said, wrapping his arms around his pillow.

"I'd rather not."

"You're cute when you're being a smartass."

"Oh shut up." She said, playfully mocking him. She pulled off her boots and placed them right next to the bed and awkwardly climbed in next to him. He threw the blanket over them and released the pillow to let her use some. She relaxed a little so he put his arm around her and promptly fell asleep while she was left awake with her own thoughts. She found it strange how Gareth had become so attached to her so quickly. She chalked it up it up to it being the end of the world. Any bit of affection moved mountains for a person when you knew you could die at anytime. She sighed heavily, and let her body fully relax. She soon felt her eyes tugging themselves closed, and she willingly obliged to them.

xx

Beth was pulled from her slumber when a loud knocking started on the door. She looked out the window, having no idea how long she'd been asleep. The sun was still out, but it was on the other side of the building now. The knocking came again.

"Gareth, there's someone at the door." She said, nudging him and effectively rousing him from his slumber.

"But I don't wanna get up." He said groggily. The knocking came a third time along with a voice.

"Gareth, have you seen Beth? She didn't show up today." Beth immediately recognized the voice as Maddie's. Guilt flooded through her as she realized she had left Maddie to deal with the towers of laundry by herself. Gareth groaned and climbed out of the bed, his warmth quickly dissipating. Beth shivered a moment, and she realized the room had been heated by a fireplace that had since burnt out.

Gareth opened the door and leaned against the frame. "I told Beth after the events of last night, she didn't have to work today." He told Maddie with a testy tone.

"Oh," she responded shortly. "We had some people show up today." She told him, a note of irritation. "There are eight of them. Four men and four women. Not sure if you wanted to have a look. We've got enough to la-"

"Would you shut up." He said crossly, pushing her out into the hall and closing the door behind them. They spoke in hushed tones in the hallway, but she was sure she heard Gareth angrily say her name. Beth couldn't help but hope that Daryl or Maggie had been among the group. She wished it could be everyone from the prison that survived, but she heard no mention of a baby, and Beth would not let herself think for a moment Judy was no longer among them. Gareth opened the door about ten minutes later, an irritated look across his features. When his eyes laid upon Beth, some of the irritation evaporated and he gave her a tired smile.

"Sorry," he told her, plopping down on the bed next to her.

"Was Daryl with them?" Beth interrupted.

"The descriptions she gave didn't match your's of Daryl." He told her glumly.

"Oh," she replied, deflated.

"I'm sorry Beth."

"Not your fault."

"Doesn't mean I can't apologize. I can tell you're disappointed." He said sympathetically.

Beth climbed off the bed and looked out the window. She was surprised to see the townspeople sporting guns. She made a confused noise and when she turned around to ask him about them, she was met with Gareth's lips on hers. She smiled into the kiss and quickly forgot her concerns. When she finally pulled away she smiled as he moved his hand to her cheek.

"We should probably go rejoin the populus soon. Its been nice having you to myself for a little while though." Gareth said, pulling her into a hug. He was just tall enough to rest his chin on the to her head and she nuzzled into his chest.

"Me too." She said, pulling her head from his chin and looking up at him. She saw the unabashed adoration in his eyes, and she had to look away as her cheeks reddened. He pulled on her chin with one finger to get her to look in his eyes. She looked up at him shyly, embarrassed by the look in his eyes. They held the embrace for a little while longer before breaking apart. Beth's torso missed his warmth almost immediately and a shiver shot down her spine.

"Did you wanna go get dinner?" Gareth asked as he searched his closet for a clean shirt.

"I mean suppose so…" Beth trailed off, shock taking over. Gareth had removed his red and brown flannel shirt and was pulling off his shirt. Underneath his layers, Gareth was muscular for being so skinny. Sharp lines defined his pectorals and triceps. Gareth noticed her staring and laughed.

"See something you like?" He said jokingly flexing. Beth bit her lip as she watched him.

"Just… put a shirt on already." She stammered, forcing herself to turn away. Gareth sniggered at her, and put a baggy grey shirt on. Beth peaked one last glance and caught sight of the defined V that led into his pants, and shuddered. "I should probably go change, if you're done getting ready, just come get me." She said hurriedly as he pulled a pair of tan cargo pants out of the closet next. Her nerves exploded at the thought of his pants coming off, and she was a little scared of letting it get that far.

"Oh, okay." Gareth said, still smirking at her. She quickly pulled the door open and and made her way to her room. When she entered the room she shut the door behind her and leaned on it, and let out a deep breath.

"That man is going to be the death of me." She muttered as she started going through her clothes.

xx

Dinner wasn't any different than last nights, though the meat had seasoning on it for once. Once they had sat at their usual table, Beth began scarfing it down quicker than normal, while Gareth snickered at her. Beth shot him a glare before she glanced around the room, making sure no one else had spotted her. Beth caught Maddie's expression, looking positively furious.

"Why is Maddie giving me the stink eye?" Beth asked, staring at Maddie dumbfounded.

"Hmm? Oh her?" He said, looking around the room before nodding in Maddie's direction. "She was in a mood when she left earlier. She's probably just upset you got out of work today."

"Hmm…" Beth said, knowing men weren't the best with understanding why women were really upset. Gareth went back to his dinner and Beth looked back to Maddie, who seemed to be pointedly avoiding further eye contact. Beth sighed, as she looked back down at her food.

"Don't let her get you down Beth," he told her matter-of-factly. "I said it was okay, and that's that. She just needs to learn to grow up and face the fact I'm the leader here."

"I can't help but wonder if she's pissed because she thinks I'm getting special treatment." Beth told him. "I think I'm gonna go down tonight and do my part of the work that I didn't get to."

Gareth looked at her apprehensively. "You sure about that?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Its only fair, especially since I since I slept all day, there'd be no way for me to go back to bed." She told him. "Not to mention, you took the day off too, aren't there things you need to do? Check the wall, talk to your brother, make sure there's no problems?"

Gareth considered her for a moment, before sighing. "You're right, I know you are. I'm going to be worried the whole time. I don't care that there are walls, I learned from horror movies the ones that go out alone are the ones that die first." He told her, grinning. She pushed him playfully.

"You're not going to scare me out of it now." She said, returning his grin.

"Just whatever you do, do not have sex while you're out there. That's a surefire way for your life to come to halt."

"That won't be hard, I'm still a virgin, and they are usually the ones that make it through everything." She told him coolly. A look of complete surprise flashed on his features before he was able to regain his composure.

"You serious?" He asked, unable to stop himself. "I'm sorry, not my business, shouldn't've asked." He muttered, flustered. Beth could tell by the look in his eyes he was curious.

"I've just never met anyone before that I even remotely wanted to. Jimmy was just too handsy and it made me feel weird whenever he tried to kiss me. Zach… Zach was just a nice guy I liked spending time with. I dunno, just hasn't happened for me yet..." She paused, wondering if she should tell him the rest of her thought. She thought it best to keep it to herself for the time being.

"Gareth, I need to talk to you," a soft voice came from behind them. They both turned to see Mary kneeling next to Gareth. Beth blushed at the thought of her overhearing her confession.

"Okay." He said, climbing out of the folding table. Gareth walked with her out of the room and Beth was again dismayed that she was being left out of what seemed like a huge secret. She finished her plate and returned it to the lady at the dish pit. Maddie was walking up when Beth turned around to walk away. Maddie still didn't look pleased with her, but continued her walk up.

"Maddie, I'm really sorry I missed work today. I'm going in tonight to do my part. I really am sorry. Gareth-"

"Save it Beth." Maddie said coldly. Beth mouth was slightly ajar as Maddie walked away, pushing the doors open with a little more force than necessary. Beth saw Mary and Gareth standing there, looking affronted by the noise. Gareth saw the look on her face and shook his head, turning back to his mother to continue their conversation. His eyes were narrowed as he watched Maddie disappear down the hall.

Beth felt like she could punch a wall. Anger wasn't something she felt often, but she abhorred being mistreated for, what appeared to her, no apparent reason. She went back to her table to retrieve her sweater, and made her way to the door opposite of the one Gareth was currently behind. She walked around the back of the building, and for a moment she thought she heard some kind of whimpering coming from the train cars. She stopped to listen closer, but heard nothing but the wind in the trees. The air was chillier than when she and Gareth had left for the cafeteria, so Beth wrapped her sweater tighter around her arms and made her way to the laundry room.

As if Maddie just wanted her in a bad mood, she found the laundry room overflowing with clothes. "She probably didn't even do anything today." Beth muttered bitterly under her breath. She moved to the shortest pile and sighed. It was going to be even worse with no one with her to distract her from the menial task. She supposed, however, that she didn't really feel like having people around anyway.

xx

"_Yea I want it, but I don't need it. _

_Tell me something sweet to get me by._

'_Cause I can't come back 'til they're singin'. _

_La, la la la, la la la_.

She sang to herself as she worked. She had been working for two hours, and she was running out of songs she had memorized. She partly believed it was because her brain didn't have space for them anymore. The lyrics had been replaced with Survival 101 and painful memories that she knew would never go away. She couldn't help to but let her mind wander to her conversation with Gareth about her innocence. She honestly couldn't say she'd be upset if Gareth was the one to take it. She trusted him with her life, and she knew in this day and age, any minute could be her last. And she did _not_ want to die a virgin.

She had been singing when Gareth slipped down to the laundry. She didn't hear as he silently opened the door, and no doubt, heard her singing. When Beth turned to stack the pile of clothes she'd folded on the table behind her, she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of the hesitant man wearing a look like he may have messed up a glorious opportunity to hear her sing.

"God _dammit_ man. Make some noise when you walk… or open doors." She swore, irritated. Her hand rested on her chest as it heaved and she tried to catch her breath.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Gareth said, his mischievous grin overtaking his face again. "I was just enjoying listening to you sing."

"You could just ask! You don't have to sneak up on a girl." She said, smiling at his compliment, despite her irritation.

"You have beautiful singing voice." Gareth praised.

"Thank you." She beamed at him. "I was in the choir all through middle school and high school. Daddy said I coulda been a famous singer if I wanted." She told him, smiling at the thought of her father. "I never had that big of aspirations. I just wanted to get the vet training to take over Daddy's office when he needed to retire."

"Did he want you to do that?" Gareth inquired.

"I don't think he would've minded either way, honestly. I don't think he would've want his Bethy to be that far away. I never wanted to be that far away from him." she told him wistfully. She was lost in thought for a moment, remembering Herschel, when a new thought broke her from her reverie. "Is everything ok? What did Mary need to talk to you about?" Beth asked curiously, turning back to the work at hand.

"The people that came here left. No one really knows where they were going, but they're gone now." Gareth shrugged. Beth frowned and turned back to him.

"They just left?" She asked, shocked.

"Apparently they were seeing if a friend of theirs stopped here. The name and description wasn't familiar, so they went on their way. Someone thought they said something about DC, but that's just stupid. Nowhere is a safe haven." Gareth shook his head. "I wish them the best of luck though."

Beth didn't say anything, wondering who they were. She wished it could've been her family. She missed Maggie so.

"You ok?" Gareth asked timidly.

"I just miss them so much. I hoped it would be them when Maddie was telling you people showed up." Beth fell silent, disappointment taking over. She let her head fall, and the tears start again. She was so tired of crying, but there was nothing she could to at the moment to stop the tears from falling. Gareth pulled her in his arms and she sobbed into his sleeve. He planted a kiss on her temple and pulled back slightly. He raised her face to his and looked into her red eyes.

"You have me, never forget that. I'm here for you." He said tenderly, leaving a short kiss on her lips.

"Thank you Gareth." She hiccuped. "I feel like that's all I've been doing lately is thanking you. You've done so much for me."

"Its nothing Beth, really." He told her, his fondness for her pouring into his words. She reached up and kissed him deeply, showing her gratitude in her kiss. His mouth was warm on hers, and she could feel the heat emanating from his body. It made her heart race and the kiss became more passionate as her hands moved to his chest.

She wasn't sure what she was getting herself into, but she was going to push this as far as she could.

* * *

**I'll be changing the rating of this from T to M. I don't know who I thought I was kidding when I made it T. I can't resist writing a good smut scene.**

**Special thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, including ThePetrisFreak, charrynoir, and Tania Ibarbia and the Guest reviews that are for some reason not appearing on the fic, even though I received an email about them.  
**

**And a mountain of thanks to my Editor-in-Chief, MassKennedyEffect. She is literally the best, and I wouldn't even know where I was going with this if it weren't for her. Which calls to mention, I have this completely planned out, and I'm thinking of doing it in three parts, The Innocence Of Youth, The Contempt of Youth and The Acceptance of Youth. Part one is going to be mostly Bereth, but I want to assure you of two things. 1) This is all necessary for where I'm going with this. 2) Beth will not let her family and Daryl go for Gareth. I know it might seem like she's complacent right now, but she's not going to stay there forever and just wait for them to magically show up.**

**Also, side note, I'm hoping you guys picked up on some of the subtle hints I dropped in there. Just wanted to mention it.**

**Remember, reviews light the fire in my fingers.**


	5. Chapter 5

Beth would've been lying if she said she didn't enjoy Gareth's hot breath on her neck, and his rough hands on her lower back. Beth also would've been lying if she said she wasn't a little scared. But she trusted Gareth, she knew he wouldn't hurt her, but that simply wasn't enough to ease her anxiety.

Beth let out a moan of pleasure as he bit down on her neck gently. Her hands moved under his shirt and she could feel the toned muscles she was just gawking at just a couple hours ago. Gareth seemed to be overtaken by his desire momentarily as he picked her up and sat her on the table, grinding into the curve of her jeans. Her breathing was hitched as he moved his mouth roughly back to hers, and she let out a squeak of pain as her lip ripped open, a small pool of blood forming around the wound. She got a taste of copper on her tongue before she pulled away from him, bringing her hand up to her lip. When she moved it away, there was a couple drops of crimson on her fingertips. Gareth quickly realized it as well, resting his head on her forehead, trying to slow his breath.

"Are you okay?" Gareth asked, voice husky. "I got a little carried away. Just gonna go ahead and add I don't mind if you don't."

"Yea, I'm fine," Beth replied breathlessly. She answered his second question by sliding of the table and pushing her lips back onto his. This was easy for Beth. She'd made out with Jimmy and Zach quite frequently while they dated. This was easy. It was what this was developing into that was uncharted territory.

Gareth pulled away from her momentarily and rested his forehead on her's again. "Before I reach the point of no return, are you sure you know where this is going?" He asked, his voice sultry.

"I do." Beth told him, her breathing almost slowed.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" He whispered in her ear.

"Undoubtedly." She trembling slightly.

"If you want to stop, just say so, and I will." He growled

"Okay." She quickly, impatience seeping into her voice.

"I've been known to be a little rough, tell me if its too much." He murmured, his lips mere inches away. Her impatience was growing, and she starting wondering if he was just teasing her. His mischievous smirk made its way onto his face and she felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. She had never felt desire like this. Gareth was being so intimidating and considerate at the same time, and it was driving her mad.

Gareth returned his lips to hers, swooping down low to grab her legs and wrap them around his waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pushed her against the wall, scratching her slightly on the concrete. He allowed one leg to drop to move his hand to her chest, pushing her sweater to the side, only the thin layer of her gray tank top and her bra keeping him from her flesh as he explored her chest, a little too rough for her liking. She gasped from the pain and Gareth released some of the pressure. She could feel him against her pelvis, and the sensation sent chills down her spine.

'This is really happening.' She mused internally.

He spun her around and opted to lay her out on the table. As her back came in contact with the fabric on the table, she remembered where she was. He stood up straight to look down on her, and he wore a deviously lustful grin.

"Not here." She told him hurriedly, sitting up on her elbows awkwardly. Gareth gave her a confused look before realization washed over his face. He swore loudly, and helped her up. "Your room, perhaps?" she suggested, voice heavy with anticipation. He gave her a look like she was a genius. She couldn't help but let out a giggle. He stopped at door when he heard the sound, and appeared to wrestle with the merits of waiting five minutes to have her truly alone. He turned around to consider her, and she bit her lip in anticipation. This seemed to push him over the edge, and he hoisted her over his shoulder, pulled the door and exited the laundry room.

Once outside, Beth felt a wave a paranoia wash over her at the thought of anyone seeing her like this. The thought thrilled and scared her, but fortunately no one was outside. The cool air felt heavenly on her bare skin, but she couldn't resist a shudder. The air was only a couple degrees warmer when they made it into their building. Gareth pulled the door open with unnecessary force and took the steps two at a time. He unlocked his door impossibly fast, tossing the keys on the couch and bringing Beth to her feet. Her face was flushed from being held upside down and she felt lightheaded.

"You alright?" He asked, a playful smirk on his lips. She bit her lip at him again and gave him a "come and get me" grin.

Almost instantly, his body was against hers, his warm, jagged breath on her lips. He put his hands on her legs and lifted her with ease for the second time that night. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moved from his lips, across his cheek to his ear, breathily whispering in his ear, "I want you." He laid her down on the bed and looked down her, mesmerized momentarily.

He rested his knee on the bed, planting a kiss on her lips, and drawing them down her her collarbone, between her breast finally stopping at her belly button. He peered up at her, wearing that damned mischievous grin that sent chills down her spine.

"How much do you like the tank top." He asked, his voice a low growl. Beth gave a small shrug, watching his every move. "Well you have ten seconds to get it off of you, or I'll remove it for you, only I'm just going to use my teeth."

"I guess I don't like it that much then," she said, voice trembling. Her heart was racing as Gareth flashed her his grin again and made quick, vicious work of the tank top, leaving it in shreds and her milky white flesh exposed to him, save for the area hidden under her bra. Starting at her belly button, he began leaving kisses all over her flesh, and the occasional small bite. Beth stared at the ceiling, unsure how to process what he had done. His ferocity was overwhelming. Her anxiety was really setting in, and she was having second thoughts. Now that her skin was exposed, she could feel herself shaking, and she knew it wasn't from the cool air. Her confidence evaporated and she wanted to hide herself from him.

He was scaring her, but she didn't know how to tell him.

Gareth must've felt her shaking and looked up at her, concern filling his face, effectively replacing his mischief from moments ago. "Beth, are you okay?" He asked her, moving off of her and laying next to her on the bed. "Did I do something wrong?" He put his hand to her cheek and she moved away, abruptly sitting up.

"I can't do this. Not like this." She said, sitting up, covering herself with her sweater. Gareth swore loudly.

"I'm so sorry Beth, I didn't mean to upset you." He said, his hands on the back of his head. He turned to face her. "It wasn't right. You haven't known me long enough. You've been here for a week. I'm so fucking stupid!" He yelled, punching his closet door. Beth winced, and stood up to face him.

"You were like an animal." She told him, eyes wide, focused on the remnants of her shirt left on the comforter, unable to meet his eyes. Gareth fell to his knees at her feet, resting his head on her stomach.

"Beth, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, I just got carried away." He whispered, distraught. She absentmindedly ran her hand through his hair, and he hugged her midriff. The pressure around pelvis brought her back to Earth and she pulled out of his embrace.

"I should go." She said, distractedly. She was still replaying the sight of him rip her shirt open. She walked quickly to the door and put it in between the two of them. She leaned up against it, letting herself breathe. She couldn't believe just a half hour ago, she was willing to give herself to him, not a second thought. Now she was on the other side of the door, trying to hold back tears.

She went down to her room and fetched some of her clothes and she could've sworn as she tiptoed past his door, she heard him crying on the other side of it. It tore at her heart to know he was hurting. She could tell he was remorseful, but she knew she couldn't face him right now. She made her way to the dingy shower and let the water wash the pain away.

xx

She didn't see Gareth the next morning at breakfast. She asked Mary where he was, but she couldn't offer any information. Beth was surprised when she found herself saddened by his absence. She found herself watching the door, waiting for him to stroll in sleepily. When she had waited as long as she could and pretty much everyone else had made their way out of the cafeteria, there was still no sign of him. With a heavy heart, she gathered her things and headed through the door. She slowly made her way to the laundry room, in no hurry to deal with Maddie. She used her extra time to scan the area for Gareth, finding that he was nowhere in sight. She sighed inwardly, when she finally came to door of the room. Surveying the area outside, her mind replayed the events of the previous night. Her stomach dropped as she sadly opened the door and found Gareth and Maddie standing in the laundry room. Gareth's face was red, looking like he was having a hard time keeping his temper in check.

"Or I will." Maddie threatened. Her eyes moved to the door and narrowed as she realized Beth was standing there. Gareth looked over to see Beth standing there and she could have sworn a look of sorrow passed across his features before he nodded curtly at her.

"Beth, you're being reassigned. Your coworker is unhappy with the time off you received and has made it plain she would rather have a reliable coworker, as opposed to someone who just doesn't show up." He said, voice laced with venom as he glared at Maddie. "You'll be working with my mother in the garden. I'll walk you there."

"I, er, okay…" Beth stammered. She couldn't believe Maddie, but she was relieved that she wouldn't be spending the day with her.

Gareth walked to the door and disappeared on the other side of it. Beth took one last look at Maddie, who gave her a glare, and followed him.

"You shouldn't have any problems with Mary. Hopefully anyway." Gareth told her, his tone light, yet avoiding her gaze. Beth's eyes fell to the ground, guilt flooding through her body. She knew she had no obligation to him, but she could tell he was hurting.

"Gareth-" she started.

"Here we are, Beth." He said abruptly, cutting her off. He pointed towards a small patch of dirt where Mary knelt, pulling up carrots. She squinted up at her son curiously, and then to Beth. "Mom, Beth will be working with you now. Maddie requested she work alone." He said simply.

"Oh good!" Mary said excitedly, getting to her feet.

"Have a good day." Gareth said, walking away without another glance to either of them.

"Well Beth," Mary said, clapping her hands together. "There isn't much time left before winter, so we have to get these vegetables up before it gets below freezing temperature."

Beth and Mary worked for about two hours before a word was spoken between the two, Beth being lost in thought and Mary seeming to accept that.

"My son really likes you, you know that right?" Mary said quietly. Beth looked up to see the older woman wearing a coy smile on her cheeks and Beth blushed.

"I had the feeling." Beth said shyly. "I like him too, he just seems to have these uncontrollable mood swings."

Mary considered her for a moment. When she spoke, it seemed like she was trying to choose her words carefully. "Gareth has a lot of stress. Its the end of the world, and he's responsible for keeping all these people safe and fed." Mary smiled sadly at her. "Its not easy, bringing in new people and trusting them, we've been scorned before. Don't let him bother you. He's just not sure how to feel about you, that's all."

Beth sighed, and returned to her work. "Everything was fine when I first came here, until I started getting closer with Gareth. Now Maddie's not speaking to me, and Gareth is giving me the cold shoulder."

Mary watched her for a moment, "Maddie… Well Maddie is a very temperamental girl. She and my son had a… falling out of sorts."

"She told me when she first came here, she and Gareth had a thing, but it didn't work out. Something about lost interest."

Mary had to stifle a laugh. "Is that what she told you?" Beth nodded, confused. "Maddie got obsessed. She stalked him for weeks. At the end of the winter, Gareth finally had enough and told her she needed to back off. She… didn't handle it well." Beth raised her eyebrows.

"So I guess she's just jealous?"

Mary made a indecisive noise, "I mean, you could say that. We all thought she had moved on, but Gareth never got close with anyone else after that. You're the first person he's taken an interest in since."

"Oh." Beth fell silent and the two didn't discuss the topic further. As night fell, Mary told her she could go ahead and go to dinner if she wanted. Beth smiled, thanked her and told her she enjoyed working with her. She walked between the buildings and saw the people filing into the cafeteria. Her stomach growled at her to hurry up, and she quickened her pace. The first thing she did when she entered the bustling cafeteria was scan the room for Gareth, but there was no sign of him. She wondered to herself if he was just avoiding her after the events of last night, but she couldn't blame him if he was. She got in line and waited for a plate. Exhaustion was creeping her way through her muscles and she realized how much gardening would make her pay for not toning up. She received her plate, scarfed down her food and made her way back up to her tiny bedroom to prepare for a shower and bed.

The air was chilly when she opened the door, and for a moment she wanted to just stay in the cafeteria. She spotted Gareth walking towards their shared building, and she couldn't help but try to catch up with him. She was virtually right behind him as he opened the door and disappeared inside of it. She pulled the handle annoyed, knowing full well he knew she was right behind him.

"Really Gareth, bit rude don't ya think?" She said testily when the door closed behind her.

Gareth stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to face her. She realized he was swaying slightly, and quickly realized he was drunk. His hair was disheveled and his flannel shirt under his jacket was unbuttoned. "Oh, sorry Beth. Didn't realize you were there." He slurred.

"Gareth, are you drunk?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

"Maybe a little." He said, chuckling.

"You're supposed to be leading this community. How are you going to do that, ripped off your ass?" She said disapprovingly.

"What do you care?" He said, tone darkening.

"If something happened right now, people would be coming to you for answers. What would even tell them Gareth? You can't think straight."

"First of all, I'm fine. Second of all, my brother would know what to do." Gareth said, turning to finish his journey up the stairs.

"Is this because of last night?" Beth asked quietly. Gareth trudged up the rest of the staircase before turning to look at her.

"No Beth, not at all." He said sarcastically. "Why would I be upset about that?" Beth didn't say anything, climbing the stairs. When she reached the apex of the stairs, she could smell the alcohol radiating off his breath.

"It wasn't that big of a deal. I just got scared." She told him, reaching out to rest a hand on his cheek. He took a step back, letting her hand fall.

"Beth, the last thing I ever wanted was to scare you." He said, not looking at her.

"I just wasn't ready." She said, moving toward him again. He stood still as she put her hand is his. "I trust you, but I just didn't know what I was getting myself into. My emotions have been all over the place."

"I'm sorry." He said softly, his grip tightening around her hand.

"Maybe, if things come to that again, you'll just have to be more gentle." She gave him a devilish grin.

"Beth Greene, you are one hell of a lady, you know that?" Gareth said, giving her his mischievous smile. Chills ran down her spine and she had to take a calming breath.

"I did have something I wanted to talk to you about." She said, changing the subject to avoid things getting out of hand again. "I talked to your mom about Maddie." Gareth raised a reluctant eyebrow at her.

"And what exactly did my mother say?" He said, stumbling down the hall towards his room. He pulled his keys from his pocket and swayed as he turned to look at her, silently asking if she'd be joining.

"Maddie told me that you two had a fling, but it failed due to lack of interest." Gareth laughed as he pushed the door open, allowing both of them inside. "Mary said it didn't go that way at all."

"You could say that. She stalked me, for weeks. Everywhere I went, she would just so happen to pop up there too. At first I just thought it was just small area, and then I realized Terminus is fucking huge. You'll see almost everyone at dinner, but aside from that, you work during the day. That mess you walked in on in the laundry room the first day you were here is from her not doing her job. I finally told her to leave me the hell alone for the last time about a month before you came here."

"Mary said it was after winter." Beth said, confused.

"That was the last time Mary knew of. She wanted to exile her, furious that Maddie didn't know how to let go." Gareth explained as he took off his jacket and draped it over his desk chair. Beth sat on the couch and he plopped down next to her rubbing his eyes. "I stopped telling her about it after that. My mother is a good woman, but she is defensive of her children. I didn't want to throw Maddie to the walkers, knowing she was a good worker when she worked, so I let her.

"One night, the night I told her off, I came up here, and she was completely naked on my bed. I told her she needed to leave, and she lost it. Told me I'd promised her I loved her, that I'd always want her. I told her that I would never promise her that, but she wouldn't believe me. Alex heard us fighting and came up to check on me. He took her to her room and has been keeping his eye on her ever since. There hadn't been a problem since, until you and I started spending time together. She's not fond of you for that simple fact, and no matter how many times I've assured her you've done nothing wrong and she should be mad at me if anyone she won't listen. That's why she wanted you out of laundry. Whatever, I suppose. Guess we'll just go back to waiting weeks for clean clothes."

"That's lovely…" Beth said, rubbing her temples. "Has she ever been violent?"

Gareth begrudgingly pulled himself from the couch. "No. She would've been forced out if she posed a threat." He sat himself in front of the fireplace and started poking at the remnants clumsily. He leaned over and lugged two logs from the piled next to it and started tearing up newspaper. She watched as he slowly but surely got a fire burning and it wasn't until the room started warming up that she realized how cold she was. The heat was overwhelming at first and she took off her sweater and jacket leaving her arms bare as the warmth lapped against her skin. Gareth returned to the couch and spotted the large scar on her wrist.

"When did that happen?" He asked, gently rubbing his thumb over it. Beth hesitated.

"When the fall first happened, my momma turned. I thought she was sick, so we put her, my big brother Shawn and a couple of our friends from town in our barn and waited out the cure. Rick's son Carl got shot by our farmhand Otis and they brought him to my dad. He fixed up Carl and let them camp out in our yard. They told us how everyone was just reanimated dead and how there was no saving anyone. Daddy wasn't pleased. They killed everyone in the barn, and I just… I fell into a pit of despair. There was no point. Everyone was going to get killed or eaten. That was before we found out that even if they're killed by natural causes, they still turn. I tried to kill myself to escape the cruel reality, but once I saw the blood I knew that's not what I wanted."

"I'm really glad you stayed Beth. I might've never met you." Gareth mused. Beth smiled at him. "Don't ever think you can't save people Beth. You're so hopeful, all the time… it just makes people hopeful. And that can be an amazing thing."

"I guess." She said sadly. "I just wish I could do more. I'm not a fighter, I'm not a doctor. I'm a babysitter. That was my job at the prison. I watched Judy, and while I loved her, I always wanted to do something more. 'We've all got jobs to do Bethy', Maggie and my Daddy would tell me. Mine was taking care of Judy while Rick had his breakdown after Lori died. Daryl ended up teaching me somethings after the prison fell, mainly tracking and how to use his crossbow. I'm just tired of feeling useless…"

"You're not useless. Taking care of children is a good skill. If you hadn't been there to watch the baby, someone else whose talents were better used elsewhere would've been doing it. Something bad could've happened and they would've been out of action. You were a necessary part of the machine that kept you guys alive, I'm sure."

"See, that's what Maggie would tell me, and I guess just felt like I had to easy. I wasn't prepared when the prison fell, and I know I wouldn't have survived it hadn't been for Daryl." She said sadly. "I owe him so much, and I don't know if I'll ever see him again."

"Beth…" Gareth whispered sadly.

"Its okay Gareth, I'm not going to cry again, I promise." She said with a giggle.

"No, its not that. If you want, I can teach you how to shoot. I'm not good in a fight, I mean look at me." He laughed, gesturing to his torso. "But I'd like to think I've become a pretty good shot." Beth giggled.

"I'd like that."

The next morning, Beth was alone again at breakfast. She yawned loudly before taking another bite at her eggs. She had gone to bed rather early, Gareth had sent her on her way seeing as he had business to take care of early in the morning. He wanted to make more signs to replace the ones the weather had gotten to. She noticed the tension in the room getting heavier.

"Someone snuck in." She overheard someone whisper. Panic starting to seep into her brain when Mary rushed over to her.

"Beth, we should get you out of here." She said hurriedly. Beth nodded and they quickly left the cafeteria. As they moved between the buildings, Beth got a glimpse of what looked like two men, a boy and a woman. Recognition boiled in Beth's gut but if it was her family, they wouldn't be hostile towards Terminus, would they?

Mary took Beth to Gareth's room and told her to wait here, and don't come out. Mary looked frantically at her, trying to will her to listen. Beth nodded, sitting on the couch.

She heard gunshots, and Gareth yelling something indistinct. Beth tried to look out the window, hoping to see someone, to know what was going on. Her eyes were glued to the window when the door behind her opened, and someone crept in.

* * *

**Alright, I'm hoping you know who that's gonna be, which means Terminus is gonna go down pretty soon. Won't be chapter 6, probably 7. (: Things have been following kinda close to the time line, but after the destruction of Terminus, I'm making it up as I go. So. I'm estimating Innocence of Youth to be about 13 Chapters. But don't quote me on it.**

**Remember, reviews light the fire in my fingers.**


	6. Chapter 6

Beth heard the door slam behind her and spun quickly to find Maddie standing there, a look of rage on her face.

"I'm so sick of being forgotten about." Maddie said, her voice laced with venom. Beth's eyebrows raised as she took a step back from her.

"Maddie, what are you doing here?"

"All he ever he does now is to protect you. Lying, cheating, hurting innocent people… it used to be to help people, but now you've taken center stage. He drank himself into a stupor because he thought you hated him, and you know who had to talk him down after? I did. I loved him, and I had to listen to him moan on and on about _you_." Maddie had moved closer to Beth as she spoke. Beth's back was to the wall.

"Maddie, stop. It isn't worth it." Beth said, trying desperately to keep panic out of her voice. "They'll send you away if you get violent, Gareth said. You have to stay here, you'll be safe."

"Beth, you clearly overestimate the amount of fucks I give." Maddie said coolly. She reached behind her back and pulled a knife from the back of her jeans.

"Maddie don't." Beth said sharply, panic taking her over. "Am I really worth your safety? Getting revenge, is that really worth risking your life?"

"Bitch, I don't care about that, he'll let me stay. I'll tell him you attacked me, and I was defending myself." Maddie spat at her. "Besides, everything he's put me through, all the lies… I'm done. Its his turn to hurt."

"Maddie, please don't." Beth said, looking out the window, hoping to see anyone to signal of her distress.

"Maddie, please don't." Maddie mocked scornfully.

"Maddie, put down the knife. You don't have to do this." Beth said, returning her gaze to the cold murderous green eyes focused on her.

"No, Beth, you have to understand, and so does Gareth. I don't deserve this pain he's put me through. He told me he loved me. Has he dropped that one on you yet? Has he told you how he's going to protect you, keep you safe because he loves you?" Maddie's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "We used to make love, or well, I guess I did. I loved him with every fiber of my being. He just 'lost interest' as he put it. Expected everything to go back to the way it was before. He made me feel things, scared, aroused, happy and then he was just gone. And now, you will be gone and he'll understand my pain."

Maddie lunged at her, trying to bury the knife somewhere in Beth. Beth spun out of the corner and narrowly dodged the blade. She moved passed Maddie and tried to head towards the door. Maddie tackled her to the ground and turned her over to face her. She raised her knife and tried to plunge it into Beth's chest. Beth rolled under her, and rather than her chest, the knife sunk into her right arm. Beth screamed in agony and adrenaline took over. Strength she never knew she had in her muscles lifted Maddie off of her and threw her into Gareth's desk, a sickening crack as Beth watched the other girls head hit the corner. Using the time she had, she ran to the fireplace and grabbed fire poker.

Maddie stood back up holding her head in her one hand, knife in the other. Blood was trickling down her forehead and looked even angrier than before. She lunged at Beth again, stumbling and Beth swung the fire poker at her. She heard the metal come into contact with the other girl's skull and the grisly sound it made. Maddie fell to the ground with a thump, and the door behind her was pushed open. Beth's eyes struggled to stay open as she looked up and found Mary standing in the door frame wearing a look of horror on her face.

"Beth are you okay?" She breathed, shocked at the sight of the two girls on the floor.

Beth looked at her arm where the knife had entered and upon seeing all the blood promptly passed out.

xx

"Beth, Beth can you hear me?" A kind voice was saying. Beth wanted to reply, but she felt far too groggy to respond. Her eyes fluttered open. Light was directly above her making her wince. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw a kind old man standing over her.

"Daddy?" She mumbled. The man chuckled.

"Not quite, Beth. I'm Dr. Stevins. Do you remember what happened to you?"

"I was attacked by Maddie and I hit her. Oh my god, is she okay?" She asked hurrying to sit up. Pain shot through her right arm and she fell back to the bed.

"Beth, be careful. You might bust out your stitches." The doctor said gently.

She took the room in. She was lying on a hospital bed covered by a dirty thermal hospital blanket. The room was lit by a flickering lamp by her bed, the exam lamp above her head shining brightly in her face and the moonlight coming through the dirty window In the corner was a chair with another dirty thermal blanket draped over it with a pillow, like someone had been sleeping there.

"Is Maddie okay?"

"Beth…" the doctor drawled, "she didn't make it."

"I… I killed her?" Beth gaped.

"You had to defend yourself. She would've killed you."

"I killed someone. I can't believe, and she had been my friend at one point." Beth started to feel dizzy and tried to stand up. "Did she turn?" Beth asked hazily.

"No, Mary found you two and took care of her before she could harm anyone." Beth reached out to balance herself on the bed. Her eyes found the chair in the corner.

"How long have I been out?" She asked.

"I'd estimate about a day and a half. We had some medicine to give you to keep you out for awhile so we could work on your arm. Gareth will be happy to see you awake. He's been in here since Mary brought you here waiting for you to wake up. He should be back any minute now. He had some business to take care of, after the loss of his brother."

"A-Alex is dead?" Beth stuttered. She felt lightheaded again and gripped the bed with her other hand, causing her to wince with pain. She hadn't known Alex very well, but she knew Gareth would be devastated.

"I'm afraid so. Beth, why don't you lay back down. There's no need to for you to overexert yourself with all the meds in you right now." Dr. Stevins said kindly. "I'll go fetch Gareth."

Beth begrudgingly climbed back in the bed. The doctor checked her stitches before he disappeared on the other side of the door. Beth's mind felt foggy, partially due to the painkillers in her system, but also from the information she had been given. Her eyes drooped as she strained to keep them open. She wanted to see Gareth, but she knew it was futile.

xx

"Beth, Gareth's here." The old doctor's voice was saying. Beth's eyes opened heavily, to see Gareth standing at the door, hesitant to enter. She smiled sleepily at him and he approached her side of the bed.

"I'm going to live, I promise." She slurred.

"Are you okay? I never thought she would've done that. I'm so sorry I wasn't there, people showed up and they attacked us. I'm so sorry, I should've been there." Gareth babbled.

"Gareth, its fine. I took care of myself." She said smiling at him again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He said, defeated.

"I'm fine, how are you? Dr. Stevins told me Alex was killed." She said gently.

"My mom is pretty cut up about it, but I'm doing alright. I was worried I was going to lose both you and him yesterday. When my mom told me what had happened, or at least what she could tell. What happened Beth?

Beth told him about Maddie's desire to have him hurt and Gareth's face went red. "So she wanted to target you?! I can't believe she'd be that stupid! She deserved what she got." He said bitterly

"I killed her Gareth. I've never killed anyone before." Beth said, staring at the square pattern on her blanket.

"Beth, its fine, you were defending yourself. If she didn't want to die, she shouldn't have attacked you. If you hadn't killed her, I would have. And I wouldn't have been nice." Gareth said cruelly. Beth put her hand on his.

"Gareth, that's sweet and all, but I would never want you to kill someone for me." She said softly. "I wouldn't want to be responsible for the stain it would leave on your soul." Gareth didn't respond, even though Beth could clearly tell he had a rebuttal. Sighing to herself, she decided to change the subject. "What happened with those people? It seemed like everyone was fine and then I was being rushed to your room."

"They seemed suspicious of us, they decided to open fire. They killed Alex before we started shooting." Gareth said angrily. It was Beth's turn to be silent. The gut feeling that she knew the people who were here was overwhelming.

"Was Daryl with them?" The question was hard to ask, but she knew it must be.

"No Beth. I'm sorry."

"When am I going to be able to leave?" She said gesturing to the room.

"I'm pretty sure you can leave now if you wanted." Gareth said, letting go of her hand. "I'll go talk to Stevins, see what he recommends." Gareth left the room and Beth sat upright, waiting for his return.

Beth moved her feet over the side of the bed, deciding to try again at standing up. She gently pushed herself off the bed and walked over to the window, realizing she was two stories up. She could see the whole grounds of Terminus and realized her building was on the opposite side. Looking around, she saw a whole different area of Terminus she'd never been to before. There were train cars with men standing guard, fully armed. Beth took a step back from the window, confused by what she was seeing. Shaking her head she turned around to see Gareth leaning against the door frame, frowning at her. The sight of him made her jump, though his penchant for her had been clear on his face moments before.

"Everything okay?" He asked, worry in his voice.

"There are men out there, with guns guarding the train car." Beth said, confusion infecting her mind. "What's in the train cars?"

"You wouldn't just accept it if I told you don't worry about would you?" He said, tired. He moved his hand to his face as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Beth gave him a strained look. "Those people who attacked, they're in there. We're trying to decide what to do with them." A look of horror crossed her face, her jaw dropping. She quickly regained her composure as he spoke, "We don't want to just kill them, but that may be our only option." He told her, frowning.

Beth's mind went right back to the farm, when Shane wanted to kill Randall, but Rick was having his doubts. "What do you want to do?" She asked quietly. Gareth approached her and pulled her into his arms. She felt his body deflate as he sighed and put his face in her hair.

"I would do anything to keep you safe Beth." He told her, voice shaking.

"Could they just live here with us in Terminus?"

"I really don't think so Beth." He said sadly.

"Oh." She said. "I'd like to go back to my room now."

Gareth looked at her warily but obliged. Beth didn't speak as Gareth walked her back to their building, though she could feel his eyes on her and the tension in the air. The sun was just coming up, bringing with it a surreal haze. She pulled open the front door to the red building they shared and Gareth's footsteps stopped.

"You're not upset with me, are you?" He asked her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I just don't want more people to die." She told him, shrugging his hand away and walking up the stairs.

"Beth, I have to keep these people safe. I'm their leader. Its my job." Gareth told her sharply.

"You do what you have to do. I won't support it though. I'm leaving tomorrow to look for Daryl. I've been putting it off for way too long."

"Beth, please don't. You could be happy here." Beth stopped in the halfway up the stairs.

"I can't be happy knowing you're keeping people hostage while you decide their fate. I've lived through it before, I won't do it again." She said.

Gareth seemed to warring with himself and she decided to continue up the stairs. "Would you let me come with you. I could help you. I couldn't just let you go out there not knowing you're going to be okay."

"Gareth, you have to stay here and keep these people safe. You said so yourself."

"Beth, please."

"No."

xx

Drying her hair, Beth entered her room. Knowing it would be her last for awhile, Beth took a long shower in preparation for her search for Daryl. She wasn't looking forward to losing the luxury of cleanliness, but she knew she couldn't stay any longer. Gareth was trying to be as supportive as he possibly could, but she could tell he wanted nothing more than for her to stay here where he knew she was safe. She knew she couldn't though, not with knowing they were willing to keep people locked up in train cars while he played God with their fate. She was slowly realizing that Gareth wasn't the man she initially took him for, and she was overwhelmingly glad that she hadn't done anything she would regret with him.

Her pack was filled with a change of clothes, water bottles and ammo. Gareth had left it initially stuffed with the ammo and the revolver she had on her when she arrived. She slung it over her shoulder, making sure it was secure before moving to the door. She looked the room over one more time, assuring herself she hadn't forgotten anything as a wave of sadness washed over her. She didn't really want to leave, but she knew she had to. She had to find Daryl, and then her family. Her hand was on the doorknob when the world around her let out a deafening boom. The windows around her shattered and she was forced into the door. She fell to the ground, and she instantly knew Terminus was being attacked. It seemed like a bomb had gone off. Her survival instinct took over and she pulled the door open, taking the stairs two at a time until she made it to the front door.

She peaked out of the door as a second explosion went off. The impact from was less than the original explosion and she heard people screaming. She saw a slender figure wearing a muddy cloak sneaking her way across the grounds and she pushed the door shut, letting her weight hold it shut as she tried to figure out what to do next. Gunfire erupted around her, the people of Terminus fighting back against their intruders. She heard snarling and when she peaked through the slats on the door's window, she saw walkers stumbling through the gate that was now destroyed. She could see the cause of the explosions, a gutted propane tank was burning in the distance. She knew was now was going to be the only opportunity to move, lest the walkers swarm the courtyard in front of the building.

It was now or never as Beth pulled the door open and ran towards the heart of Terminus. She saw many of the Terminus people laying into the incoming walkers, and she raised her hands as she saw two people take aim at her.

"I'm not a walker!" She yelled at them.

"Beth, get inside! Its not safe out here. We'll come for you when its over!" A man she knew to be called Mike yelled to her.

"I can help!" She said, pulling out her revolver. He sighed in frustration and ran over to her.

"No, just get inside! Get to the cafeteria. Defend the people in there. You don't have enough bullets to stay out here." He told her hurriedly. He led her to a building she'd never been inside before and pushed her inside. "Get to the cafeteria. Don't look back. Get yourself to safety." He shut the door behind her and she heard him scream in agony on the other side.

"Mike! No!" She cried. She tried to push the door open again, but his dead weight was holding it closed. She turned around and took in the room. There were two other doors, one with sunlight shining through it and one with dim light coming through the small glass. She heard a scream come through the second door and she ran to it, pulling it open with all of her might. The scream was coming from Mary, who was on the ground as three walkers moved toward her.

"Mary, no!" Beth cried as she tried to take aim, her tears making it difficult to see. She instantly regretted her outburst, as the two of the walkers realized she was present. The ambled over to her and she aimed the gun at the closest walker. She pulled the trigger, and his jaw was ripped away from his body. She aimed again, and pulled, effectively dropping it. She took out the other walker and the one who was taking a large bite out of Mary's arm. Mary's scream was deafening as blood poured from her arm and Beth fell at her side.

"Mary, I'm so sorry. I was too late." Beth sobbed.

"Beth, I'm so glad you're safe." Mary said hazily.

"Mary what happened?" She noticed blood coming from the older woman's leg. "Did someone shoot you?"

"Beth, put me down, please. I'm going to turn into one of them. I don't want to be a monster." Mary begged her.

"Mary… I can't…"

"You have to. Find my son, make sure he's safe."

Beth nodded and put her gun against the woman's head. She turned away as her finger pulled the trigger and the old woman's body became still. The room she was in came into focus and she realized she was in some kind of memorial. "Never Again. Never Trust. We First, Always." was crudely painted on the walls and the floor had names painted on them. Beth knew she shouldn't linger and she made her way to the furthermost door, which was faced in the direction of the cafeteria.

As she opened the door, she found a gun in her face. The face on the other end was a face she'd never thought she'd see again. A wave of relief washed over her and she almost collapsed as he said her name.

"Beth?" His voice cracked as he said her name and lowered his weapon.

"Daryl!"

* * *

**Reunited and it feels so goooooood! I'm so so so so so sorry for my leave of absence, I just couldn't bring myself to write after that god awful MSF. I'm not going to say much more in case any of my readers haven't quite caught up yet. Thank you so much for the reviews guys! It means so much to me to know that people are really enjoying it, and it really helped to know that people wanted more! Thank you so much guys and I hope you enjoyed. Also, sorry for the shortness of it, I'm planning on starting Chapter 7 as soon as this posted. Also, I know I said that the destruction of Terminus wouldn't happen this chap, but I need a Bethyl reunion, so... :D**

**Remember, reviews light the fire in my fingers.**


	7. Chapter 7

"You're… here?" Daryl said in utter disbelief. Over his shoulder, Beth spotted walkers headed their way.

"I'm here, and we need to get out of here. We can talk when we're safe." She said hurriedly, stepping to the side to shoot the walkers approaching them. He turned and fired, the two of them effectively clearing the area.

"We have to find Rick, I was right behind him when you opened that door. I think he was headed…" he paused to look around, "that way." He pointed to the left and they took off. She saw gunfire and Rick's curly hair at the front of it. She watched as he took out a couple Terminus people and Beth's stomach dropped. Her family was fighting them. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she spotted a dumpster pushed against the fence.

"We have to get over the fence." She said, trying to hold back her tears as she pointed to the dumpster. They ran over and climbed on top of it. She used the fence to push her way over the fence, followed promptly by Daryl. She lost her footing from the impact from the fall, but Daryl pulled her to her feet. They ran down the fence and she saw, to her disbelief, Rick, Michonne and Carl also jumping over. Relief surged through her body as they were joined by Sasha, Bob, Glenn and Maggie. Beth almost fell to her knees at the sight of her family, only to be supported by Daryl as they scattered into the woods.

They found a small clearing and rested a moment. The reunion would have to wait though until the group had escaped the danger. Walkers were swarming in left and right and Beth couldn't help but feel anxious. She wondered where Gareth was and if he'd made it out okay. She couldn't help but hope he'd find them soon, and they could find safety. They ran further into the woods until they couldn't hear the snarling walkers anymore.

Once they had found temporary safety, she rushed to her sister. She held her sister close as they both sobbed tears of joy. She hadn't even noticed Rick's disappearance until he returned with a duffel bag and started doling out weapons. He smiled at her as he handed her a semi-automatic rifle and straightened up to hug her.

"I'm so glad you're here Beth. When Daryl told me what happened…" Tears sprung to the gentle eyes as he smiled at her.

There was a rustling in the bushes and Carol emerged from the trees, eyes brimming with tears. Daryl rushed to her, wrapping her in an embrace. She handed him his bow and he gave her a teary smile. He turned around and his eyes fell on Beth. She could see how overwhelmed with emotion having the two of them back and tears prickled in her eyes.

"Carol, did you do that?" Rick croaked, staring at the woman. She nodded teary-eyed at the man and Rick hugged her.

"You have to come with me." Carol said, when Rick finally released her.

Carol led them to a small shack where Tyreese emerged holding Judith. Rick stumbled, dropping his pack completely in shock as he was reunited with his youngest child, Carl at his side. Sasha cried as she hugged her brother. The scene was beautiful, and she felt a rough hand moving into her own. She looked up to see Daryl grinning down at her as her predictions came true.

"I was starting to worry I'd never see you again." He muttered to her.

"I told you, you have to have a little faith." She said, grinning at him. His grip on her hand tighten and she hugged him. Rick looked at the rest of the group, beaming.

"Where do we go now?" Tyreese said hesitantly, asking the question no one wanted to ask.

"We go to DC. We get Eugene there and we stop this thing." A red haired man said sharply, and she realized they were joined by people she didn't know.

"You just wanna walk there Abraham?" A hispanic woman said sharply to him. "We need to regroup."

"We can't put this off any longer!" The man called Abraham yelled at her.

"Yes we can. We need supplies, we need guns and food." Rick said evenly, trying to defuse the tension. Abraham didn't look happy, but he backed down.

"We can't stay here." Tyreese said. "There was this man, Martin. He threatened Judith. We're too close to Terminus."

Shock flooded through her system at the sound of his name. She didn't even notice as her grip tightened around Daryl's hand.

"You alright?" He muttered to her.

"I know him."

"We have to find somewhere for the night." Rick said, picking his pack up and slinging it over his shoulder, carefully balancing Judith in his other arm. They followed him down a road, hoping to find sanctuary for the night.

xx

They found a small cluster of houses, only one being liveable. Daryl, Rick and Glenn cleared the house before letting the group move in. It was a two story house with a chain link fence surrounding it and its backyard. The house appeared untouched, a small collection of water bottles and canned goods in the kitchen. As the rest of the group searched the small house, Beth sat on the porch steps with her rifle. Her mind was reeling from the day she'd had, and as much as she wanted to just lay down and sleep, she had so many questions for Daryl and Rick.

Her head was resting against the wooden support beam for the awning while the sun was setting slowly in the west. Her eyelids were drooping when she heard movement behind her and the tired archer sat down next to her. She smiled weakly at him, receiving a brief smirk. Silence fell over the two of them, too tired to speak. Beth's eyes closed for a moment, and when she opened them again she found darkness had enveloped the world around her. She turned to see Daryl was still sitting next to her, giving her a moment's rest while he took up watch for her.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to fall asleep like that."

"Naw, its fine." He said, glancing over at her. "Rick wanted to talk you." Beth begrudgingly got to her feet.

"What about?"

"What happened to you, why you were at Terminus. I've been wondering myself." He said gruffly.

"Oh." She said simply. He pulled open the screen door and she pushed the front door open. Inside, Maggie and Glenn were wrapped up in themselves in the living room, clearly celebrating their safety. Beth avoided eye contact and quickly moved past the archway when she saw Glenn's hands moving under her sisters shirt.

"They don't have very much consideration do they?" Daryl said, eyeing the doorway after they were out of the happy couple's eyeshot.

"They're just happy. Cut them some slack." Beth said sharply.

"Never understood how happiness meant shoving your tongue in someone's mouth." He muttered. Beth chose to ignore him and pushed open the door to the kitchen where she found Rick and Michonne talking quietly. Rick's hand had been resting on Michonne's face, clearly concerned about something, while she smiled bleakly.

"Hey, you wanted to talk to me Rick?" Beth said, feeling like she had interrupted something private.

Rick tore his eyes from Michonne and cleared his throat at the sight of Beth. "Oh, hey Beth." He rubbed his eyes for a moment. "I've been meanin' to ask. What were doing in Terminus? Did they have you locked up too?"

"Locked up?" She said shaking her head while her eyes widened.

"You weren't in a train car?" Michonne asked quietly.

"No… I had a room and they gave me a job… I was with Gareth most of the time."

"You were with Gareth?" Rick said darkly.

Beth looked at the people in the room with her, Michonne and Rick wearing looks of anger. When her eyes found Daryl, she found a look of confusion and she could've sworn she saw a look of betrayal in his eyes.

"So you knew." Michonne said harshly.

"Knew about what?" Beth asked hesitantly.

"Today, Daryl, Glenn, Bob and I woke up knowing today very well was the day we were going to die. Had it not been for Carol, we would've died." Rick said coldly.

"You all were the ones that attacked?" Beth said, baffled.

"We didn't attack, we just showed up. They had Glenn's body armor, my poncho and your father's pocket watch." Daryl said, clearing his voice.

"I drew when I realized something was wrong." Rick said, his eyes narrowing as he looked her over.

"Gareth told me people had attacked, he had me taken to his room while everything happened, I didn't see anything or anyone." Beth explained, shaking. "He told me he had the people in train cars, waiting to figure out what he was going to do with them and I told him I couldn't be a part of that. I was leaving today to look for Daryl when Carol attacked." Tears had sprung to her eyes, as she explained. "I didn't know it was you." Her eyes found Daryl's but his were cold. He turned and left the room leaving her alone with Rick and Michonne. She heard a loud blow land on the wall and her eyes returned to Rick.

"Did he tell you what he does with the people he decides to kill?" Rick said icily. Beth shook her head. "He slaughters them, and feeds them to his people." A look of horror washed over Beth's face and she felt her stomach churning.

"You mean to tell me," she tried to force back a retch, "that the meat in Terminus… is people?"

"You can't tell me you didn't know, you've been living there." Rick said, looking at her skeptically.

"Rick, I am not a cannibal. I don't-" Her stomach finally won as the contents of her stomach forced their way out. She clasped her hand over her mouth and ran to the sink. She threw up while Rick and Michonne exchanged glances. When her stomach was finally completely empty, she turned to face them. "I didn't know. If I had known, I wouldn't have supported it. I'm so sorry Rick. I'm so sorry." Tears were flowing freely as she looked at Rick, pleading him to understand.

"Beth, I'm sorry." He said. He was clearly lost for words.

"Gareth lied to me, he never told me anything about where the food was coming from, I just figured they had cows and pigs like we did. It never even crossed my mind." She said weakly. Her head was swimming and she stumbled out into the hall where she found Daryl standing with a look of fury across his features.

"Daryl I'm sorry." She said, trying to steady herself against the wall.

"Girl, I ain't mad at you. I'm pissed that someone would do that to a person." Daryl said, putting her arm over his shoulder.

"You just looked almost… betrayed." She said hesitantly. He lifted her up and carried her up the stairs without responding. He took her into one of the upstairs bedrooms and rested her on the bed. As he walked to the door, Beth found herself missing Gareth's open door policy on his feelings.

"You need to get some sleep." Daryl said from the doorway, not quite looking at her.

"Daryl…"

"G'night Beth."

He shut the door behind him and Beth's anger flared up. Sat up in the bed and went to the window. Tears of anger sprung to her eyes and she punched the window sill. Her hand ached, but it couldn't compare the the pain in her arm. She shrugged off her cardigan and saw red forming around the dingy bandage that covered her stab wound. She couldn't help but feel like there were eyes on her as she checked out her wound, but she shrugged it off. She sighed heavily and looked for her pack. Finding it wasn't in the room, she quietly pulled the door open and spotted it at the bottom of the stairs. She moved quietly into the hall and down the stairs. Her hand was rested on the strap when she heard Daryl and Rick's voices coming from outside. She peered over to the dark living room to see if her sister was still celebrating, but it seemed her and Glenn had been able to sleep. She turned her attention back to the conversation on the porch.

"Do you think she's going to want to go back?" Rick was saying.

"I highly doubt it. You said she didn't even know what they were feeding her." Daryl said disgustedly.

"Daryl, we don't know what she told him."

"What's she going to tell him that he doesn't already know. We aren't at the prison anymore. We just need to get outta here. I'll find some form of transportation tomorrow."

"What if he tries to come for her? He didn't know she was with us, and I'm sure someone saw us leaving with her." Rick said with a slight panic in his voice.

"He tries anything, I'll kill him myself." Daryl growled.

"At least she's back right?" Rick said calmly. Beth could tell he was trying to calm Daryl down.

"She shoulda never been gone in the first place. That's on me. Now she's…" He trailed off. "Look, she's stayin'. You kick her out, I'm gonna go with her."

"Daryl, I wasn't saying that."

"Good."

"What happened between you guys before she got taken?" Rick asked hesitantly. Beth's heart leaped, previously unaware of how bad she wanted to hear his take on what happened at the funeral home.

"She just... Shit man, I don't know. Just don't go and send her off like you did with Carol." Beth heard footsteps and knew they'd be coming back in the door before she could get back upstairs. She straightened up and slung the backpack over her shoulder. Daryl came in looking annoyed and his annoyance deepened at the sight of her.

"I thought I sent you to bed." He said roughly.

"What position are you in to tell me when to go to bed? I needed my pack. I have to stop the bleeding." She said pointing to the red bandage.

"What in the hell happened to you?" He asked angrily. Her eyes caught Rick's and he just shrugged at her.

"I was stabbed by a girl at Terminus. She didn't like me much because I spent so much time with Gareth. He liked me. Apparently he'd hurt her and she wanted to get rid of me to hurt him." Daryl's gaze narrowed and he seemed to be having a hard time keeping his temper in check.

"Hurt him?" Rick asked, calm evaporating quickly. "Were you two…?"

"He and I spent a lot of time together. He was really smart and thoughtful, and he thought I was this beacon of hope." Beth explained, avoiding his second question.

"You trusted him." A voice said behind her. Beth turned to see Sasha. "Its just like when we met the Governor. We trusted him. He was very charismatic and genuine."

"Its more than that. I always felt like there was something strange about him, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to know him, I wanted to help him. He had a lot of terrible things happen to him and his family, just like us." Beth wiped the few silent tears that had fallen down her cheeks. "I cared for him, I'm not going to say I didn't. That's how incredibly stupid I am."

"You're not stupid Beth. We just need to get out the area." Rick said, peeking out the door. "If Gareth felt the way it seems like you're saying he did, he's going to come looking for you."

"And if he does, I'll just send him away. It's going to be fine. Gareth wouldn't hurt me." Beth insisted.

"We can't take that chance, knowing what we do about him." Rick told her. "We stay the night and then we leave." Daryl started walking down the hall away from her.

Sasha turned to Beth, resting her hand on her shoulder. "I don't mean to be forward, but did you guys…?" She trailed off. Beth noticed Daryl stop in his tracks.

"It almost happened, but he scared me. He cried when I left that night, that's why I know he won't hurt me." Beth said, trying hard to ignore Daryl's clenched fist.

"He may not want to hurt you, but he'll be gunning for the rest of us." Rick said.

"I'll talk to him! He'll listen to me." Beth insisted.

"I really want to believe that would, Beth, I do. But this is my family I'd be putting at risk. We have to go." Rick said with finality.

"Rick, we have to stay through the night at least." Michonne said. "We're all exhausted. We'll leave first thing in morning, but we need to rest." Rick couldn't argue her logic and he trudged up the stairs.

"First thing in the morning." He said before disappearing at the top of the stairs and Michonne followed him.

"I'm gonna go out and find some kind of transportation." Daryl said abruptly, pushing past the people in the small hall.

"Daryl you need rest." Sasha said rationally. Beth agreed, but thought it best not to say anything. She started digging through her pack to find the spare bandages and a half empty bottle of water.

"I'm fine. We need some way to get outta here before Beth's boyfriend shows up." He said pulling the door open and disappearing on the other side of it. Beth glared at the door for a moment before she took a deep breath and started cleaning her wound.

"I'll take watch." She told Sasha as she wrapped a clean bandage around her wound.

"No, Beth its fine."

"Go get some sleep Sasha. I'll be fine." Beth shoved her belongings back into her pack. "Someone needs to do it and I've been getting plenty of sleep these days."

Sasha didn't argue as Beth grabbed her gun and revolver and pulled the door open. Once it was closed behind her, Beth let out a deep sigh. She sat on the steps where she'd been sitting earlier that night. She stared at the other dark houses in the small neighborhood. The moon offered only a little light tonight which made it rather hard to see anything besides the house fronts and mailboxes. She wanted to be mad at Daryl for not talking to her, but at the same time she couldn't expect him to just be open with his feelings. It just wasn't his strong suit.

When she started feeling restless, she decided to walk around the outside of the house. Bushes blocked the small path down in between the house and the garage. She got the feeling that eyes were on her again, and she took her gun out of the holster. She turned around and squinted into the darkness, but there was no one she could see in the distance. She moved the bushes out of her way and moved along the side of the garage. In the backyard, she found a rusty swingset and a sandpit. Instead of chain link, there was a tall wooden privacy fence surrounding the backyard. The sight of it made her feel trapped because she couldn't know for sure what was on the other side it. She noticed a wooden gate next to her and gently opened it trying not to make the hinges squeak. It was pitch black on the other side of the fence, and apprehension brewed in her belly. She raised her gun and quickly ran to the other side of the garage, almost tripping on a root that had poked its way out of the ground. She heard a rustling behind her and quickly turned to check behind her. She didn't see anyone, but she knew she couldn't have just imagined the sound.

"Daryl? Are you out here lurking around?" She whispered, squinting into the darkness.

"No, but I'm out here. Did you forget about me already Beth?"

* * *

**So. I'm going to play coy, but I think we all know who that is. Lots of dialogue and the reunion that was too beautiful. I won't even pretend like the Carol/Daryl reunion wasn't sweet, but the Carl/Rick/Judith reunion brought on the tears. Okay, so. Next chapter will deal with Gareth and defensive Daryl. Because mmmm, defensive Daryl. Also, going the jealous-ish Daryl, but he doesn't know he's jealous. He's just mad someone would hurt Beth like that, but then he's still a little jelly that she almost did stuff with Gareth. They'll talk about it, but it'll be when the Bethyl train really gets rolling, when they move on from all this and Gareth is dead.**

**Remember, reviews light the fire in my fingers.**


	8. Chapter 8

"G-Gareth?" Beth sputtered. She couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, but she recognized it immediately.

"How did you escape?" He asked. She was spinning around looking for him, but couldn't quite catch the sight of him.

"Escape? I was leaving that day." She said, confused. She shook her head at him "I found my family. You had them locked up, Gareth. Why didn't you tell me they came to Terminus?" She asked angrily.

"I didn't know who they were!" He exclaimed, finally revealing himself from the side of the garage. He moved closer to her, an apologetic look formed on his face.

"I told you what Daryl looked like, you had my sister too! You were going to kill them!" She yelled at him, pushing him away from her. "And then, and then you were going to feed them to me weren't you!? What did you do to me!? You turned me into a monster!" For a moment, she thought she could see true remorse and hurt in his eyes "I trusted you Gareth." She said coldly. "And I'm guessing you're here to kill them, aren't you? They'd be a fucking feast for you wouldn't they!?" She realized she was screaming when the sound of snarling began coming through the woods.

"Shit." Gareth muttered, turning to face the woods. Two walkers stumbled out of the woods and Gareth took aim. He shot two of them as four more ambled out of the woods. Beth heard the thunk of a crossbow being fired, and relief washed over her as a bolt sunk into the walker right in front of her.

"Daryl!" She yelled, shooting another walker and turning to face him. He had determination on his face and soon the small field was void of walkers. She turned to thank him, when she saw he had his crossbow in Gareth's face. "Daryl No! He's leaving!" She yelled, stepping in front of him.

"Beth, you really don't get it, do you? He was going to kill us. He was going to kill your sister." Daryl snarled at her. "And then he was going to give you the meat to eat. How can you even feel sympathy for him!?"

"I don't know, just lower your crossbow, please, Daryl! Please." She whimpered. Daryl shot a look of disgust at her but lowered his weapon. She turned to Gareth and saw he had holstered his own. "I don't want you to kill him. Let him leave here. I don't want anyone else I care about to die."

"I wouldn't hurt the people you cared about Beth. I was just out here looking for you." Gareth said earnestly. "I'm glad you're okay, and that you're safe. I'll go, I swear." Gareth turned to walk back into the woods and Beth felt her heart ache. She didn't know if he had anyone out there with him, but she knew there was no way he could come live with her and her family. Especially with the disgusted look that distorted Daryl's features as he watched him walk away.

"I can't believe you let him just walk away." Daryl said, venom in his words. Beth didn't respond, walking away to the front porch. "Hey. Hey!" He yelled after her as he reached to grab her, and turn her to face him. "What's gotten into you, girl?"

"Just let him go. This is his one break, if he comes back, kill him." She said blankly, feeling drained. They walked back to the porch and Beth sat on the steps again.

"He comes back again, he could get the jump on us. You really don't think that his 'feelings' for you are going to keep him from getting his revenge, do you?" Daryl growled at her.

"I rest all my faith in you, Daryl. You wanna go after him and kill him, that's fine." She told him, her voice devoid of emotion. Daryl stayed on his feet as silence washed over them. Daryl shifted awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable by the silence.

"You alright?" He asked her hesitantly.

"I trusted him." She said, eyes welling up with tears. The weight of her bad judge of character was finally hitting her. "I am so sick of crying." She said, wiping the tears away with her sleeve.

Daryl snorted next to her. "I thought you didn't cry anymore."

"Call me a liar then, I suppose." She snipped at him.

Daryl was silent for a moment, clearly trying to chose his words wisely "After they took you, I ran into this group of men. I had come to a crossroads and had no idea which way they had taken you." His fist clenched and she looked at him. "They were led by this guy Joe. They had rules. Seemed like a good idea. I was hopin' I could talk them into helping me look for you."

"You were really gonna keep looking for me?" Beth asked, surprised.

"It was a mission, someone showed me once that having one can keep you alive." He told her, smirking. "Anyway, they were after this guy. They didn't know his name, but apparently one of the guys had seen his face. Apparently this guy had killed one of their friends and they wanted revenge. So I went with them. Come to find out it was Rick. We found Rick, Michonne and Carl around a campfire and when I realized who it was, I went out on a limb and got the crap kicked outta me." Daryl lifted his shirt slightly to show her the bruises fading on his skin. "Rick ended up biting a chunk of Joe's neck out and we made it out. We all make bad calls Beth. Its part of being human." They were both silent for awhile as they watched the sunrise together.

"I hope he's smart and doesn't come back." Beth said quietly.

"We'll be gone before he gets the chance." Daryl reassured her.

"I'm just really glad you guys are okay." She said, standing up. She wrapped her arms around Daryl's waist and squeezed him tight. "I knew you'd be fine, but that didn't mean I'd given up on you." Daryl awkwardly patted her on the back and seemed relieved when she let go. "You're never going to know how to accept a hug are you?" She said, a small smirk playing at her lips.

"Just not used to wanting to let someone touch me." Daryl said awkwardly. Beth wanted to say something, but Daryl wasn't having any of it. "I never found that car and now that Gareth knows where we are, we have to go today." His eyes looked over the neighborhood, looking for something that could carry all of them. Beth caught sight of the garage.

"Did you ever think to look in there for something?" She said pointing at it. Daryl's eyes caught the garage and rolled.

"I highly doubt there's anything in there." He said skeptically as he watched her move to the large door. She cupped her hands together and peered in through the window. She grinned as her eyes fell on a heavy duty pick-up truck.

"There's a pick-up in there!" She said excited. "It looks like it has a second row of seats in the back and we could fit everyone else in the bed." She found a small T shaped knob that she turned and opened the garage. Inside sat a shiny black pick-up truck that had heavy duty tires equipped. Daryl walked over, his jaw dropped.

"You got lucky, girl. Damn lucky." He said. While she started pushing on the tires to check their pressure levels, he walked over on the other side of the truck. "Hell, there's even a shell over here we could put over the bed." He looked at her like it was Christmas. "Beth, there's a bike over here." Beth stopped checking the tires and walked over to the other side of the truck to see what looked like a newer version of Daryl's old motorcycle. She rolled her eyes to herself.

"Its very nice Daryl, will it be quieter than your old bike?" She said teasingly.

"Hey, you watch your mouth. That bike was a beaut." Daryl said sharply.

"I'm not saying it wasn't, I'm just pointing out it was quite noisy in an environment where we need to be as quiet as possible." She said as she watched Daryl look it over.

"Its out of gas." He frowned.

"I'm sure we can find some." She tried to reassure him. She pulled open the door to the truck and found the previous owner behind the wheel, head blown away by the shotgun between his knees. "This guy must have really loved his truck so much he wanted to die in it." She said grimacing. Daryl tore his attention away from the bike and walked over to her.

"I guess we should pull him outta there." He said climbing up to get on the other side of him. He pulled him out of the truck with some difficulty, laying him out on the ground. "Sorry man, we need your truck." He said to the corpse. He climbed into the cab of the truck. "Half a tank. I'm gonna take a walk around to see if I can get gas outta any of the other cars around for the bike. Will you go in and let everyone know we found our way outta here?"

Beth nodded at him and went back into the house. She found Maggie and Glenn stirring in the living room and delivered the good news. She found Carol in the kitchen with her head in her hands.

"Everything okay?" She said to the older woman.

"Yeah, Beth, I'm fine." she replied, despite wiping away some small tears that had run down her cheeks.

"We found a way to get out of here." Beth said timidly.

"That's great, does Rick know?"

"I haven't told him yet. Daryl went to find more gas. He found a bike in the garage too. Just get your things together, we have to go." Beth told her, taking her leave of the kitchen.

In the hall she encountered a girl Maggie had told her was Tara. She told her Glenn never would've made it if it hadn't been for Tara. Beth smiled at the sad looking girl and told her the good news before heading up the stairs to find Rick and Michonne. The first door she knocked on had Sasha and Bob behind it. She seemed to be interrupting something incredibly private so she told them quickly told them about the truck, her face a bright red from embarrassment. Rick and Michonne were in the master bedroom at the end of the hall. She knocked loudly on the door and was taken aback when Rick answered the door without his shirt.

"Rick I need to talk to you for a moment." She whispered.

"Yeah, Beth, what's up." Rick said, rubbing his eyes.

"Gareth showed up last night. I sent him away, and told him to stay away. Daryl found a truck and a bike so we could get out of here in case he comes back." Beth said quickly.

"Gareth was here last night? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Rick said angrily, walking away from the door in search of his shirt. He let the door open behind him and she saw Michonne fully dressed strapping her katana over her back. Beth nodded in greeting and Michonne gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Rick, I gave him one chance. I told him he had to leave now, that he couldn't come back to find me." She told him, trying to calm him down.

"He's not going to just stay away." Rick said incredulously. Beth felt like she was ten inches tall. "You should've just killed him Beth." He said quietly.

"I couldn't." She murmured.

xx

The sun was at its apex by the time they had everything situated in the truck. Daryl had moved his newfound bike out into the driveway where the black paint shined in the sun. The plan was Rick was going to drive the truck with Michonne, Carl, Eugene and Abraham with Judith plopped down in Michonne's lap. Glenn hadn't been thrilled with everyone riding in bed of the truck, so he and Maggie found a minivan in the neighbors garage. He, Maggie, Tara, Rosita, Sasha, Bob, Tyreese and Carol piled into minivan leaving Beth and Daryl to ride on the bike. Daryl was apprehensive about her riding, insisting she could fit into the minivan.

"Go on and climb in that van with your sister." He told her when she approached him ready to hop on behind him.

"But Daryl, I've never ridden a motorcycle before." She insisted, employing her cutest face to win him over.

"Puppy dog eyes ain't gonna work on me, girl." He smirked.

"There's no room for me, I'd have to sit on the floor. Why do that when I could just ride with you?" Daryl sighed heavily and went back into the garage. He returned carrying a small black helmet.

"Lucky for you though, this guy had a wife who rode, so there's a spare helmet." He held the small motorcycle helmet out to her. She eyed it with distaste.

"Are you going to wear one?" She asked him, taking it from him. As she looked it over she realized it bore a sticker that read "Daddy's Girl".

"I ain't worn a helmet my whole life." He told her, kicking the motorcycle to a quiet start. "Not gonna start now."

"Daryl, there is no way I'm wearing this." Beth told him, showing him the sticker.

"Rules of the road, passenger wears a helmet or gets her ass in the minivan." He told her, smirking. Beth glared at him, pushing the helmet over her head.

"This thing reeks." She said grumpily, her voice muffled.

"Bet it smells better than the inside of that minivan." He said, revving the bike. "You gotta hold on, alright? None of that leanin' back and putting your arms in the air shit."

"Daryl, I'm not stupid." She said, climbing on the bike wrapping her arms around his chest. She locked her fingers and took a deep breathe. What she had intended to be a calming breath, ended up making her heart race. The smell of gasoline and leather mixed with his natural musk made her head spin.

"You alright back there?" Daryl called over his shoulder. She nodded into his back and took a couple shallow breaths to calm herself as he pulled out of the driveway. He paused to make sure Rick's truck and Glenn's minivan pulled out behind them. Beth felt like she could feel eyes on her again and she couldn't help but feel happy that they were leaving. Daryl peeled out of the neighborhood, causing Beth to squeeze him tighter as the motorcycle gained speed. It felt like she was flying, and she understood why Daryl forewarned her about throwing out her arms.

They drove for about an hour, looking for somewhere to set up for the night. They followed a long road that led to a small elementary school that was still pretty much intact, due mostly to its chain link fences and the sign outside that said "NO SCHOOL UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE". Daryl parked his bike outside of the fence and the two of them climbed off. Beth immediately found herself missing his warmth against her chest. Daryl, Michonne and Rick cleared the building quickly, only pulling out two walkers by the end of it.

"There's only about 7 rooms, plus the cafeteria and the bathrooms." Rick explained after they'd driven their cars into the fence and tied it off. "I'd recommend steering clear of the bathrooms, they didn't smell too fresh when I went in there. We can clear out the classrooms and use the desks to secure the exits."

"There weren't any… kids were there?" Carl asked hesitantly.

"No, just some teachers that seemed to be caught at the wrong place at the wrong time." He told the boy, trying his hardest to be comforting.

After they'd carried their supplies in, Bob offered to take first watch. Beth was still exhausted from not sleeping the previous night, so she offered no argument when Daryl suggested maybe she should get some sleep. She found the art/music room and felt peaceful as she laid her blankets out on the floor close to the chalkboard with a line of desks on her side.

"Everything good in here Beth?" A gruff voice came from the doorway as she laid herself down on her makeshift bedding. She looked up to find Daryl awkwardly standing in the doorway.

"Yea Daryl, thanks."

"Rick doesn't want anyone sleeping alone, so I told him I'd stay in here with you, if that was okay with you of course." He said strained. She sat up to get a better look at him. She found him having a hard time even looking into the room.

"Daryl, you know I'm decent right?" She giggled. "You can stay in here with me, that's fine. I'd feel better with you here anyway." He finally gave the room a full once over and seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He closed the door behind him and Beth found herself disappointed when he walked on the other side of the line of desks and started setting up his bedding. "I really missed you, Daryl." She said abruptly, the words escaping before she even thought about them.

Daryl was silent a moment before replying, "You too, Beth."

* * *

**Sorry for such a short update, wanted to post before I went to work. Not sure if I'll have another chapter before Christmas, I'm working through the holidays and I'm only off tomorrow. If I don't get another one posted, happy holidays readers, I'm glad I have you guys and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Gareth will be reappearing and we will be losing Bob. After that, I'm going to be totally branching off from the show's storyline. Uh, that's it guys. Thanks for reading!**

**Remember, reviews light the fires in my fingers.**


	9. Chapter 9

"We don't know where he is, Sasha went to relieve him and he was just gone."

"You don't think…"

Beth eyes begrudgingly opened when she heard Rick whispering to Daryl at the door. The room was dark, save for the bright beam of light pointed at the ground. Rick had brought in a flashlight with him, he'd been looking for someone.

"Why would he take Bob though?" Beth tried to feign sleep as the archers eyes moved to her.

"For her? Where would that get him though?" Rick said. Beth could feel Daryl's eyes hot on her and her breathing quickened, despite her will for it not to.

"I don't know man, but if he wants her back, he might just take her." Daryl paused a moment. "Apparently they were pretty close." His voice seemed strangled. He cleared his throat and continued. "Besides, who else would take him? Do ya think he just took a stroll?" Beth peeked an eye open and saw Daryl's back to her and she let out a silent sigh of relief. She propped herself on her elbows and squinted at them.

"Hey." Her voice was laden with sleep, she coughed slightly before she continued, "What's going on guys?"

"Bob's gone missing." Rick told her.

"You're old boyfriend's our prime suspect." Daryl said spitefully.

"Okay, could you stop calling him that?" Beth said angrily. She climbed to her feet and glared at him. "He seemed a lot different at Terminus." Daryl glared at her, but refrained from commenting. Beth looked to Rick. "Look, I'm really sorry if it was him, but I really don't think it was. We drove for an hour, there were no other cars that we saw. They could not have found us."

"We don't know what's going on, we just know he's missing." Rick told her.

"Gareth wouldn't kill him, he said he wasn't going to hurt any of my people." Beth insisted.

"While you're naivety is sweet, you're wrong. Bob is gone and he's the only person who would've even had a motive. He wanted you to go with him, you could see it in his eyes." Daryl growled.

"Well, let me go out there, let me find him and put an end to this."

"Are you going to go out there, find him and kill him?" Daryl inquired.

"If I have to, yes. I'm going to try to talk to him first."

"You're not going."

xx

"Beth, you can't go out there. Its not safe!"

Her sister had spent the last twenty minutes repeating the same thing over and over, trying to convince Beth to stay. Beth had changed out of the clothes she had on and put on the clothes stuffed in her pack. She changed the bandage on her arm, happy to see it healing. The sun was starting to set and she knew they were losing daylight. She had spent most of the day trying to talk Rick into letting them go out, rather than charge in guns blazing. He didn't trust her plan of civility, convinced Gareth didn't know what civility was anymore but Beth knew Gareth. She knew the type of man he was and she was convinced she could talk some sense into him.

"Bethy? Are you even listening to me? You cannot go out there." Maggie said, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at her. "What if you died, I just got you back, I can't lose you again." Beth wiggled her way out of her sisters grip.

"Maggie, I'm going to be fine. Daryl is going with me, he's going to help me track them. He'll hang back, and I'll approach alone. If anything goes wrong, he'll protect me. It'll be fine."

"Daryl's just one man Beth!" Maggie said, putting her hands on each side of her head. "At least let me come too. I'll be able to help."

"We'll be fine Maggie, its going to be okay." Beth told her for what felt like the thousandth time.

"I don't like it." Maggie said curtly.

"Well isn't that too bad?" Beth mumbled under her breath. She pushed her knife in it's sheath and pulled at her belt to ensure it was on tight enough. "I'm going Maggie. I'll see you when we get back." She squeezed her sister in a hug and pulled her pack over her shoulder. "I love you Mags." She say, one hand on the door, the other wrapped in her sisters.

"I love you too Bethy. Come back safe." Maggie said, tears welling up in her eyes. Beth tore her eyes away from her sisters face, quietly unsure she'd ever see her again. Glenn was waiting on the other side of the door and smiled weakly at him.

"I know you'll be alright, you'll be with Daryl. If anything, you might keep him alive." Glenn told her, chuckling. Beth smiled weakly at him, willing her face not to betray her anxiety.

"Are you kidding me? I don't know how he's made it this far without me." She giggled, her nerves oozing in to her voice. Glenn nodded with mocked assurance and hugged him. "We'll be back soon. I promise."

"I know you will be. Just bring Bob back with you." Glenn said quietly. Beth nodded at him, silently assuring him she'd do her best. Down the hall she found Daryl and Rick having a whispered conversation. Rick looked weary and Daryl was wearing a defiant look. As she approached the men their eyes caught her and they were immediately silent. Beth felt ten centimeters tall as the realization washed over her.

They had been talking about her.

"You ready Beth?" Daryl said gruffly.

"Yea."

"Daryl!" Rick whispered roughly.

"We'll be careful Rick, I promise. This is my fault. Let me take care of it." Beth said, her hand coming to rest on the older, tired man's shoulder. Rick looked her over, his head slightly tilted to the left. Ultimately he sighed and relaxed his body.

"Just come back, okay?" He said wearily.

"We'll do better than that, we'll come back with Bob." She told him, a false sense of bravado taking over her voice. A small smile played on Rick's lips. "Spend some time with Carl and Judith. We'll take care of this." Rick looked longingly down the hall at the door Carl and Judith were tucked behind.

"Alright, but come sun up tomorrow morning, if you're not back, we're coming to find you." He told her firmly.

"Yes sir." She said, saluting him. She turned to Daryl. "Are you ready?" He nodded, pointedly not looking at the ex-cop standing with them. He hoisted his crossbow over his shoulder and pushed the door open, holding it as he waited for her to follow. Beth's eyes found Rick once more and smiled sadly at him, before following Daryl out of the school. Apprehension flooded her system as they made their way out of the atrium. Doubt flooded her mind, replacing everything she had planned to say to Gareth.

Terror had flooded her system. She froze as they reached the edge of the property.

"Second thoughts?" Daryl mumbled, keeping his eyes averted from her.

"No, we need to do this, I just… I'm scared." She whispered.

Silence hung in the air between them. Neither moved nor spoke for what felt like an eternity.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with that. I'd think you were crazy if you weren't scared." Daryl told her, his voice a low growl. "I've got your back girl, I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya." Beth's eyes traced a path in the dirt before looking up at him. He was clearly uncomfortable by the exchange, not looking in her direction. "We're losing daylight Greene, we gotta go."

"Yes Mister Dixon."

xx

Daryl found four sets of tracks heading north of the school. One set was an easy stride, one seemed as though had been forced and the others had tailed behind to stop the second set from getting away. It led them to a small church, tin cans strung up around the perimeter. The sky was black, save for the stars and the full moon. Light was coming from within the church, and Beth spotted a man she recognized from Terminus entering the building. She nodded to Daryl, confirming she knew him. Daryl raised a hand to his lips, motioning for her to be silent. She watched as he rolled under their alarm and straightened up, not taking the time to brush himself off. She followed suit, and after regaining her footing, she headed directly for the church doors. Daryl grabbed her arm and pulled her back, looking at her like she had lost her mind.

"You stay back, I'm gonna knock on the door. I have nothing to worry about, and if I do, you'll be out here, waiting." She whispered hurriedly, pulling her arm out of his grip. She could just by the look on his face he wasn't thrilled with the plan, but when she continued walking away he didn't try to stop her. Daryl pressed his back against a large sequoia tree near the edge of the perimeter.

As she approached the dirty white doors she could hear hushed voices from within. Another wave of apprehension washed over her, but she knocked sharply on the doors. The voices behind the door went silent instantly. Beth gave a fleeting look to where she knew Daryl was hidden before the door creaked open. An eye looked cautiously through the crack, and she recognized it immediately. The weary hazel eye showed recognition and then annoyance. The door was pulled open the rest of the way and she was shown how weary the man was. Before her stood a weak and beaten down Gareth. Her heart broke at the sight at first, and her mission was forgotten for a split second as she looked him over.

Gareth looked worse for wear. His normally neat flannel shirt was torn and bloody. His jeans had been torn up as well, mostly around his knees. His boots didn't match, one being black and the other being a dirty brown. His face bore small cuts and bruises, and she could see through the hole in his jeans his leg suffered from a nasty burn.

"Well, well, well, look who came back." He said sardonically as he leaned against the door frame, blocking her view of inside. She could tell that while he wasn't excited by her presence, he wasn't exactly unhappy to see her.

"I'm not here to stay." She told him hesitantly.

"I figured as much, you've got your boyfriend back, why would you come back to me? I'm sure he's told you how we had him locked up for dinner later." He said, unashamed.

"Our friend is missing." She told him, trying to ignore what he had said, even though it sent her mind reeling. The thought of him hurting Maggie enraged her. Knowing she had been stupid enough to trust him just made her ball her fist in anger.

"And you think we took him?" He asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well who else would?" She shot at him.

He shook his head in disbelief, causing his hair to fall into his eyes. "I told you I wouldn't hurt your friends." He told her darkly.

"Did you follow us?" She asked.

"I was trying to make sure you were safe. Believe it or not, I do care about you." He told her, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"If you had cared about me at all, you would've told me you had found my family, not lined them up for slaughter." She whispered, trembling with rage.

"I told you I didn't know it was them." He insisted half-heartedly, closing his eyes.

"Somehow I don't believe that." She said, her tone laced with venom.

"Beth, how was I supposed to know?!" He exclaimed, standing straight up. Beth jumped back, almost falling down the steps. Gareth reached out and grabbed her and pulled her back onto the step. She collided with his chest and his arms locked around her. She struggled and he made it clear he had no intention of letting go.

"I missed you Beth, please stay. I need you." He whispered in her ear, voice shaking. She struggled harder and his grip tightened. "You make me feel sane, you make me feel okay."

"You're insane! You lured people to Terminus and then you ate them! How is that okay? How is that sane?" She shouted, hoping Daryl would hear her.

"I had to feed my family. I didn't kill everyone who came to Terminus. If people were okay with how we lived, they could stay. You wouldn't believe how many people were easy to convince."

Beth struggled harder to get away, but he had his hands locked behind her back. She heard rustling behind her and Gareth's grip tightened.

"Let the girl go." She heard Daryl growl.

"You brought this clown with you? I knew you weren't alone, but why'd you bring him?" He mumbled, hurt.

"Let. Her. Go." Daryl repeated, each word a sharper threat.

"What are you going to do? Shoot me with your crossbow? You could hit her." Gareth chuckled.

Beth assessed the situation quickly. There was no way she could get herself out of Gareth's grip, even with him distracted by Daryl.

"If you care so much about her, why you lettin' her be put in harms way?"

"I know you won't do it." Gareth said, grinning widely.

"Oh yeah?" Daryl said, sounding affronted.

"Yeah, you see I happen to know you're too much of a bitch to let her get hurt. You want your revenge, come get it. But she's going to die first." Gareth said, laughing whole-heartedy. "You had your chance Beth. Could've just stayed. Now Daryl's going to kill you." Gareth's demeanor had changed completely. Gone was any sign of vulnerability, instead it was replaced by a cool temper and smirk as Beth struggled with all her might to get out of his grip. With every squirm, Gareth's grip got tighter. White spots started appearing in her vision as every breath became harder to take. "Better hurry Dixon. I could just suffocate her myself and my men could kill you." Rustling of the grass told Beth that the other Termites were closing in.

Her eyes drifted to a close and her body went limp. She felt her body hit the ground and she was took a deep breath, grateful for the air back in her lungs. When she reopened her eyes, she found that Daryl had attacked Gareth and was now tending to closing in Termites. Gareth was laid out in the doorway, whether he was dead or knocked out, Beth couldn't tell. She saw red forming around his temple, but she was almost positive she could see his chest moving.

"Shit." She heard him mumble under his breath. She heaved herself off the ground, her vision white with spots once more. She shook her head to clear her vision in time to see Daryl being surrounded by the Termites. She heard groans to her left and a quick glance was enough to let her know walkers were in the vicinity.

"Daryl! Walkers!" She yelled to him, running over to help the archer. His bow had been discarded on the ground to favor hand-to-hand combat. She picked it up and was relieved to find the drawstring already pulled back. She found the bolt on the ground and reloaded it into the crossbow. She picked it up and aimed it at the man closest to Daryl. Her aim wavered, but he locked eyes with her for a moment and nodded. She steadied the heavy crossbow and pulled the trigger, effectively sinking the bolt into the man's head. Daryl pushed the men away from him, causing them to stumble and fall back onto the ground. He waved to Beth and they took off, running away from the camp. They ran for close to a mile before fatigue won over Beth and her run slowed to a stop.

"Beth, we gotta go." Daryl insisted, stopping too to catch his breath.

"Daryl, I can't breathe, give me a minute." Beth told him, trying to slow her breathing.

"Beth…" He started. "You want me to carry you?" He asked her seriously.

"Another serious piggyback while you try to run, I'll pass." She told him smirking. She could've sworn in the moonlight she saw a smile cross his features briefly. After about five minutes of calming herself, she was ready to run again. They took off into the night again.

Beth tried to dodge trees and branches but ultimately it was Daryl who fell victim. Beth had made it out in front of him but stopped dead when she heard a cry of pain and the sound of Daryl falling flat on his face. Beth feared the worst at the sound, but had to resist a smile at the sight of Daryl laid out on the wood's floor.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, rushing over to help him.

"My knee, I think I landed on my knee." He groaned as he rolled over onto his back.

"Come on, get up. I'll carry you back." She said, grabbing his hand and putting it around her neck. She instantly regretted any amusement at the sight, especially if Daryl was really hurt.

"No offense Beth, but I don't think you're carrying me anywhere." He said, pulling his arm away.

"Daryl, come on. If you're hurt, we need to get you back. Unless you want to sit out here and wait for them to find us." Beth said, losing her patience with him.

He scanned the area. Pointing to a small cave like area covered by hanging moss and vines, he said, "Help me to get over there. Then run back and get Rick. We should be more than halfway there. Just… come back and get me." He groaned.

"Daryl, are… are you sure?" Beth asked hesitantly, looking him over.

"Look, just do it, alright?" Daryl snapped at her. Taken aback, she stepped back from him.

"Daryl, what happens if a walker comes by, let alone a herd? You can't defend yourself!" She exclaimed, panic seeping in as every bad outcome of the situation played in her mind.

"You yellin' ain't gonna help the matter." Daryl told her through gritted teeth. "Are there any dead ones around? You can cover me with the guts. It'll mask my smell, it'll do for now."

Beth scanned the area, trying to take deep breaths to even her breathing. She spotted one about fifty yards away. She hauled the rotting corpse back to where Daryl was and rested it at his feet. She helped him up and as his weight rested on her almost completely, she realized how right he was about the situation. They stumbled over tree roots and ducked under the foliage as she helped him to the overhang he pointed to. She all but dropped him on the ground, falling with him as his weight overcame her. Daryl held onto her as she fell into his chest. Looking up into his eyes, a tingling in her stomach erupted. His eyes were full of concern and she muttered a weak apology. He cleared his throat and tore his eyes from hers.

"If you're gonna get back before Rick releases the cavalry, we better get to it." He told her, pointing to the rotting corpse she had left behind, bringing her mind crashing back to reality.

"Sorry Daryl." She mumbled, pulling herself to her feet. She dragged the walker over and moved to cut its stomach open.

"Wait, here." Daryl stopped her, handing her his black handkerchief. "You won't want to smell the stench that's about to come outta that thing."

Beth wrapped the cloth around her face and got to work. The stench that came out of the corpse was almost unbearable and she was grateful for his consideration. He took off his vest and handed it to Beth. "I don't want it to get ruined more than it already is," was all he had to say on the matter. They began smearing the walker's guts all over his body and Beth began to wonder if he'd ever be able to get rid of the smell. She stood back to admire their handiwork and decided it would do for now.

"Just put the vest on, don't lose it." Daryl told her darkly. She shrugged it over her shoulders and did up one of the buttons. "Get back to the school." he told her groaning as he shifted his leg.

"Yes Mr. Dixon." She said mockingly. She handed him her gun, gesturing to her knife when he started to protest. She fought the urge to laugh at the sight of Daryl Dixon, plopped down with a fresh coat of zombie guts. He shot her a murderous glare and she took her leave. She ran for the next two miles straight, completely out of breath by the time the school came into sight. A slender body stood straight up and looked directly at her, and took off running toward her. As the figure came closer, she recognized it to be Maggie. She collided into a hug with her sister and the two cried for a moment, happy to be reunited.

"Beth, where's Daryl?" Maggie asked looking around the grounds. She looked down at her sister to find her wearing his vest. "He's not… He didn't…"

"Daryl's fine." Beth assured her. "Well at least for the time being. We have to get back, he hurt his leg, he's hidden in some brush. We have to get back to the church. Gareth's there, he attacked. I think Bob's there. We heard someone screaming." Beth realized she was rambling. "Where's Rick? We have to get rid of this son of a bitch, once and for all."

Maggie nodded, and led her sister inside of the school to the door Beth knew Carl and Judith had been behind when she left. She knocked sharply on the door and within seconds, Rick was opening it. He was shirtless and a little out of breath, seeming surprised to see her.

"How'd everything go?" He asked quietly.

"Daryl's been hurt, and I think they have Bob. We need to hurry." Beth told him, trying to keep her tone calm, as the fear of something happening to Daryl crept up on her.

"Where is he?" Rick asked her, rushed. "Daryl I mean, is he okay? What happened?"

"We were running back, trying to get away from the walkers and Termites attacking us, and he fell. Messed up his knee pretty bad it seemed, he couldn't even walk on it. There was no way I could carry him back and now he's out there, alone in the woods. We need to hurry, this was my fault." Beth's voice was getting more and more high pitched and frantic as she spoke. She fought the urge to cry with all of her might, but tears were slipping through despite her best efforts.

"Alright Beth, alright. Its gonna be alright. Take Michonne and Tyreese with you. Show Tyreese where Daryl's at and he can help him back here. You and Michonne need to scout the area. I need you to show me where on the map they are."

"They're about five miles out, at a church." She wracked her brain for the name of the church, but she realized she'd never seen a sign. "Its due north of here, I don't remember the name, I'm sorry."

"Its alright, we'll look on the map. Go wake Tyreese, let him know what's going on."

"What about Michonne?"

For the first time in her life, she saw Rick blush. "She's, ah, she's in here with me."

"Oh," was all the perplexed Beth could muster.

* * *

**I'm baaack! (Again.)**

**I hope you liked the chapter, a lot happened in this one. I hope your enjoying the underlying Richonne plot, I'm not really sure if I'm going to bring that to the forefront just yet, or if I'm just gonna leave it in the background for now.**

**Sorry if its a little rough, I haven't written much since Chapter 8, and I'm always terribly insecure about my writing. I know I'm not good at action scenes, but I'm learning, slowly but surely! See you in Chapter 10!**

**And remember, reviews light the fires in my fingers.**


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